The Child of Time: Destined
by Percyjacksonfan16
Summary: Humanity is doomed now that Percy, a son of Kronos, has joined his father. He cares for no one, not even the girl he once would've done anything for. • Thalia knows that with time, she can reach Percy but the lines between good and bad have been blurred. The world is crumbling down and she may have to give up Percy to ensure the survival of the Olympians and mankind. Book #5.
1. A Walk in the Woods

**A/N-Hey guys! Welcome to the final book in the Child of time series. If you want to get caught up to speed, make sure to visit my profile, go to my stories and read the other four fics in the series. Are you back yet? Great! For everyone else, I'm Alex, aka-Percyjacksonfan16 and I write super long chapters. Get used to it. Reminder this fic is in dual pov, (Percy and Thalia) and for your sake, I will do my best to keep it in that same person all chapter unless necessary. I used to switch povs like 3 times in one chapter and I know how confusing that can be. Without further ado, enjoy the first chapter of Destined!**

* * *

 **Percy**

 **A walk in the woods has always helped me relax and release tension. The fact that I'm dragging two bodies behind me should be irrelevant.**

For February, it was a relatively nice night. The dense tree line provided just the right amount of darkness yet allowed the iridescent moonlight to shine through. I felt calm...and sticky. I looked down at my shirt that was clinging onto to me, noticing that the dried blood had created a sticky film.

"Thanks alot, Mom." I mumbled, looking to my right. I gripped her cold wrist and shook my head. Even in death, she still looked shocked. I mean, what did she expect? She gave birth to a monster and I was only fulfilling my designated role. She should've been more appreciative, unlike many people, she got her happy ending. I helped her delve into the Labyrinth to find her long lost love, Paul Blofis. For sixteen years, I searched for her and yet, I wasn't enough. She got to die next to the love her life and that's more than most people get.

Sighing, I continued to drag the two corpses through the woods until I reached the cemetery. The cemetery is arguably the best place to dump bodies-no one's going to think to look for a dead body in a place where there are only dead bodies. Finding an empty dug out hole, I set the bodies down.

"Beautiful night, isn't it, Paul?" I pulled out an opened package of peanuts. Killing always made me hungry. "See that constellation over there? About five yards away from the moon?"

Paul, half dead but still somewhat sentient, provided a weak nod. That guy was persistent, I'd give him that.

"That's my friend-Zoe. She's dead now." I said casually. Just mentioning her name was something I used to have a hard time with but overtime, I'd come to accept her death. She'd probably be disappointing in the person I'd become today. She was a hunter of Artemis and she swore off all men, claiming that they were all no good. As she was dying, she admitted that I was one of the few good men left.

Clearly, she was wrong.

"I didn't kill her, if that's what you're wondering. Her father did that." I added. "Sometimes, parents suck. Am I right?"

Another weak nod, his chest barely rising.

I chuckled, throwing a few peanuts at him before shoving the package back in my pocket. "Well, this is the end of the road for you, Sally." I bent down and snatched up her scarf. It smelled like her-fresh and crisp, like laundry detergent. I reared back my right leg and kicked the body into the empty grave. Her body landed with a sickening crunch then I turned to face Paul.

He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

"Don't worry, she won't be alone. You're next." The fear in his eyes was apparent as I knelt down. I balled up the scarf before winking at the mortal. "Tell my uncle I said ciao when you get to the Underworld, kay?"

The man started to panic and I almost sighed. Anyone with a brain knew that panicking while smothered wasn't a good idea. Nonetheless, I shoved the scarf in his mouth and pinched his nose to restrict airflow. His body started jolting feverishly, hips bucking wildly as he clawed at my hands.

"Asphyxiation is quite actually a merciful death," I told him, watching as he thrashed blindly underneath me. "If there is no struggle, it only takes two minutes, tops. But most victims panic which is the first mistake. During panic, the body requires more oxygen. The victim will begin to hyperventilate, which is detrimental to their survival. Without available oxygen and a constant expelling of breath, CO2 begins to quickly build up within the bloodstream. This leads to carbon dioxide poisoning which leads to-" Paul jerked once more before his eyes glazed over. "death."

I glanced at my watch and scoffed. The guy had barely lasted two minutes. I dumped his lifeless body into the shallow grave with Sally, wondering how the hell this guy had survived stab wounds.

Chuckling, I picked up an abandoned spade and began shoveling dirt onto the bodies. Though I had killed them mere hours ago, it felt like days...

* * *

Dodging as many cameras as humanly possible, I made my way to the underground parking lot of Mount Tam-aka: the titan's headquarters. It'd been three days since I'd been with my half father and titan, Kronos, and I needed to get away. We need to destroy the Olympians and take over the world this and that.

It was all very annoying.

And yes, I did say _half_ father. I was a walking freak of nature even in a world full of gods, titans, and their children-demigods. One fateful night, my mother and the god of the sea hooked up and Kronos, the titan of time, had been searching for a powerful halfblood that would be able to inherit his time powers and become the host he needed once he rose from hell (literally.) During Poseidon and Sally's intimate night together, he possessed the sea god but there was a bit of a power struggle that resulted in constant shifts between Poseidon and Kronos. Nine months later, a child that was mortal, half god, and half titan was born.

Miraculous, I know. And before you say that's impossible, the author would like to remind you that this fiction so deal with it.

Shortly after my birth, Kronos tried to abduct me but my mother hid me. She, however, was captured by Kronos and taken to Tartarus. Kronos had little strength because he didn't have a host so for years, he kept her in Tartarus knowing that once I discovered my true identity, I would come to find her and he would use me as his host.

He was right. Partially.

When I was fourteen, I became an assassin and my line of work helped me find out more information about the world of so-called Greek "myths." I made a deal with a few devils-also known as the Olympians who are, by the way, very real and as petty as the myths make them out to be-to be their ally in the upcoming war against the titans. There was this Great prophecy about a child of the Big Three-Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades- that could save or destroy Olympus. The Olympians didn't know my godly parent and many of them originally thought I was just an average demigod, but accepted my alliance and allowed me to stay at their camp for their children, Camp Half Blood. After my godly and titan parentage was revealed, I was sent on a quest with two of my best friends, Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase. We found some sacred items and returned them to their respective owners. I found out that my mom was being held captive in Tartarus and that the titan of time planned to use me as a host. Without a body, Kronos wrecked havoc on everyone through his little minion Luke, a son of Hermes and former camper, for years until recently.

After my first quest, I had planned to retreat to my home, think of a way to rescue my mom without being caught in Kronos' clutches, and wait until the actual war started to help the Olympians. As the fates would have it, that didn't happen. I was thrown into another quest because Luke decided to poison a magical tree and Grover had gone MIA. Once again, Annabeth and I, along with my new found cyclops baby brother, Tyson, and ugly daughter of Ares, Clarisse, managed to rescue Grover and get the cure for the magical tree that would become my future girlfriend.

I didn't think a tree could change my life but she sure did. Thalia, the magical tree now normal girl, was a daughter of Zeus and when I first met her, I wanted to kill her. See, she wasn't always a tree. As mentioned before, children of the Big Three were in constant danger because both sides wanted us. The titan wanted to use us to destroy Olympus and the Olympians wanted us to preserve Olympus. But only the oldest child of the Big Three would make that decision and unfortunately for Thalia, she was the oldest. At twelve years old, she ran away with Luke and a young Annabeth, in search for camp Half blood. Grover was tasked with bringing Thalia to camp safely but things went wrong and Thalia took one final stand at the top of half blood hill, facing her death with countless monsters about to kill her.

But that didn't happen because her father, Zeus, took pity on her and turned her into a tree whose spirit protected the camp from monsters. After the tree was cured from Luke's poison, she was revived which put a snag in my plans.

Now I was no longer the eldest child, she was. And she was nowhere near prepared to face Kronos. Her powers were wrecked which left her with no option but to ask me for help. My sea powers had practically disappeared after I had gotten into it with Poseidon a few months prior but I managed to get them back so I could help her. But while I agreed, I certainly didn't make it easier for her.

I was jealous and wary of her. Jealous because other than the fact that she was the child of prophecy, she had no reason to fight Kronos. I had every reason to-he had taken my mother, he sent Luke to kill me with bugs, and he wanted to posses me. Wary because naturally, she and Annabeth had rekindled their friendship and Annabeth was one of the few people I actually gave a damn about. I knew that Thalia would attract monsters and I didn't want Annabeth in the middle of that. So I did my best to help and repel Thalia at the same time. It was quite fun, actually. She would get so flustered and I may have made it my mission to make her blush at every chance. The heat rose to her face and there was this spark in her eyes that shifted them from an electric blue to icy blue. That being said, she wasn't at all intimated by me. She never backed down from one of our many arguments, throwing rapid sarcasm right back at me. She didn't hate or fear me because I was half titan, she just hated me in general.

That confused me the most about her and jealous or not, I was up to the challenge. Thalia, Annabeth and her boyfriend, Lee, and I joined Grover to recruit two powerful halfbloods to camp. We were undercover for three months, posing as students at the halfblood's boarding school, waiting until it was safe to take them to camp. It was then that I found out that my life was linked to Thalia's. If she died, I died and vice versa. The fates had done this to ensure that Thalia would live until the age of the prophecy, thinking that our immense power and skills would ensure her survival. For two months Thalia and I were bitter rivals but a month later, I changed my tune. I started to look forward to seeing her and I could've sworn I was falling for her but then everything changed when Zoe returned.

The day we decided to take on a monster and transport the halfbloods-Nico and Bianca Di Angelo-to camp, things went south. The monster and Annabeth fell off a cliff, Lee scurried off to find her, and we had to be rescued by the hunters of Artemis. They were a group of (practically) immortal girls who have sworn off men and pledged their allegiance to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and moon. These girls were led by a lieutenant and that was Zoe. A girl that I had met almost year prior. She and I were trapped in a cave, monsters surrounding it. We exchanged life stories, thinking we were going to die and by the end of the night, I wanted to know her better. I decided to distract the monsters with a fight and told her to escape. She reluctantly did so and I fought those monsters off, determined to see her again. The next day, I searched for her until it was with a hefty heart, I had to assume that the monsters had gotten to her first.

When I saw her on the cliff threw me off completely. I felt a mix of emotions from her appearance-surprise, relief, and disbelief being the most prominent. But more importantly I was grateful for a second chance to get to know her. Zoe managed to talk me off a cliff, literally, and even though I knew she was a maiden, I couldn't help but want to know her. Shortly after that, she and I went on a quest to find Artemis who had been captured by the titans. Thalia, Grover, and new huntress Bianca came with us also. There was this prophecy which I knew foretold Zoe's death and she did also, but she went on the quest regardless. It was then that I was realized her dedication to Artemis and that no matter how close we were, Zoe wouldn't give up her oath for me. And I didn't expect her to so I had to get over her. That was easier said than done because at the time, I felt like she was the only one who understood what it was like to be me-she was also an offspring of a titan. She had turned her life around by joining the hunt then separated herself from her father's evil reputation and that gave me hope that I could do the same.

Somewhere along the way, I found that hope in someone else-Thalia. The entire quest was difficult for all of us. Bianca had died and Grover had to leave to protect a sacred sea cow. We managed to find Lee in the desert but we were all spent by the time we made it to Mount Tam in San Francisco, California. That's where Annabeth and Artemis were being kept. We made a pit stop at Annabeth's mortal parent's house and it was there that I saw the side of Thalia that cared for me. I think she realized how easily she could lose me and she just stopped fighting me. She still denied that I was only attracted to her because of the fates' bond but I took it and ran with it. I did whatever it took to prove it wasn't the connection that attracted me to her. It was the way she looked at me, the way she treated me that gave me hope. Hope that I could be more than Kronos' spawn.

That day on Mount Tam changed my life for the better and the worst. We rescued Artemis and Annabeth but we lost Zoe which shattered me. To add insult to injury, Thalia had tried to kill Luke and missed, mortally wounding our friend, Lee. Without even thinking twice, I paused time and made it seem like I had killed Lee. Thalia didn't know the guilt that came with killing but because I was an assassin, I did. And Annabeth's grief wouldn't help that so I took that blame. And I let my best friend hate me for months but it was worth it because Thalia saw the extent of my love for her. She admitted her love for me and from that day forth, I was completely lost to her.

My devotion to her made me a little paranoid with her safety. I kind of manipulated time so that I was older than her, making me the child of the prophecy. The same day she found that out, my mom returned from her sixteen year hiatus in hell. Sally's return spurred a lot of things in motion-Annabeth and her became rather close which was odd and she was determined to find her soulmate, Paul, who was stuck in this maze, the Labyrinth where they were both held against their will. As mentioned previously, Kronos was in need of a host and Luke would fit the bill until I came around. Paul was a medic and Luke had fallen ill after just taking on just a bit of Kronos' essence. Paul nursed him back to health and when Luke was well and healthy, the son of Kronos left the mortal to rot in the Labyrinth.

It was there that he and Sally fell for each other but Kronos let her go without him. So now we had to find him and unfortunately, we had to work with Luke. Luke could barely handle a bit of Kronos' essence so he was looking for a way out-an automaton, a robot made by the same inventor that created the Labyrinth, Daedalus. This robot would be able to host Kronos and Luke would go scotch free. Although Sally knew the way around the Labyrinth, she didn't know Paul's exact location but Luke did. If we offered safe passage through the Labyrinth, he would make sure we got to Paul. The quest through the Labyrinth was horrendous. At first, only Luke, Grover, Sally, and I went but a stubborn Thalia followed, bringing Tyson and Annabeth along for the ride.

I purposely didn't bring Thalia because I was afraid she'd get hurt and yes, our lives were still tied together but the prophecy for the quest predicted that she would suffer a fate worse than death. At the time, I didn't know what was worse than death but I wasn't going to let her find out. I didn't tell her about that part of the prophecy so she followed, thinking that I was being overprotective. When I realized I couldn't get rid of her even if I tried, I let her stay and tried to change the tables completely. I tried to decipher that part of the prophecy myself. I thought a fate worse than death would have to be her leaving me to die. I was convinced that if something happened to me and she couldn't have prevented it, she would have to live with that and that guilt was worse than dying. I thought she would have to leave me behind to save herself so I made her believe that. I told her that it was okay if she left me behind. I told her that I might not make it. And she believed it.

So we go through the Labyrinth, Annabeth finds the truth about Lee and throws Thalia through a wall. Literally. I found out that my mom didn't love me, in fact, is terrified of me and my girlfriend basically admitted that she once had feelings for Luke. And that normally wouldn't make me jealous but Luke-till this day-was in love with her, whether she saw it or not. We all separated paths only to be brought back together by Daedalus who we assumed was dead. We went back into the Labyrinth, more united than ever, and just as we reached Paul-battered but alive-Luke betrayed us. Turns out he had made a deal with Daedalus who already knew he came for the automaton. Luke sold us out to Kronos and broke his promise to Daedalus to protect him from Minos, a ghost king that wanted to kill him. Nico Di Angelo swooped in for the rescue and sent Minos back to the Underworld. Grover and Tyson had gone off to look for the lost satyr god, Pan and I got Sally and Paul out before everything went down. Thalia, Nico, and I escaped and had to leave Daedalus behind. After making sure Sally and Paul were safe, us demigods traveled back to camp to encounter a battle of massive proportions.

Kronos' army of monsters were pouring out of the Labyrinth entrance in Camp half blood and the only way to stop it was to collapse the maze from inside. Daedalus' life force was tied to the Labyrinth but we managed to find him and he agreed to well, die. But there was one problem-Tyson and Grover were still in the structure, looking for Pan. Thalia, Nico, and me went inside to find them, the Labyrinth collapsing in on us. We found them, witnessed Pan's death, and as we were trying to get out, Kronos caught us and he had taken over Luke's body. He chased us into a part of the Labyrinth that housed the pit of hell, Tartarus. Nico had warned us that his father put up extra security measures by Tartarus-blue lasers that fried anything when it went up. We were almost out of the collapsing structure when a blue laser wall separated Thalia from me. She was right on the edge of the pit, one step backwards and she would fall in. But if I didn't leave, I'd be buried under rubble so Thalia pushed me away with a burst of air and Tyson dragged me away from her. She couldn't go forward, she'd be fried by the laser. She couldn't just stand there, she'd be buried alive. So she went with the only option, fall into Tartarus and stay alive until she was rescued.

So she did so. And for one agonizing week, she was with Kronos. Forced to do unspeakable acts-fight fellow halfbloods and until one day, one halfblood pushed her too far and she killed him. The day before that, I was making my way to Mount Tam-where I knew she was being held-but Kronos/Luke caught me. He offered me a deal-I joined him and became a willing host and in return, he'd let Thalia go. I swore on styx because if I didn't, he would kill her. My half father allowed me to go into the room where she was being kept and I did, pretending like I was still rescuing her. I wasn't ready to tell her the truth-she wouldn't leave if she knew. So in this very parking lot, we were separated once more and this time, I couldn't go with her. There was no point. I'd been running from Kronos my entire life and ultimately, I ended up right where he wanted me. Not to mention that my half titan side was oddly comfortable at Mount Tam-I felt at ease, like I was at home. I considered camp my home but I never felt like this there. I always felt like I needed to put up my guard and only Thalia was the only one that I could let that guard down around. So I wasn't going to try to run and I didn't want to be rescued. I wasn't going to try to sabotage the titans so they couldn't go to war with the Olympians-if I did, Kronos would just posses me immediately. He hadn't yet because we were trying to find a way out of the bond the fates cast between Thalia and me. When my father took over my body, he didn't want to worry about being vulnerable because of Thalia.

Thus, until then I was still me. Then when we broke the bond, he wouldn't hesitate to take me over. I could only hope that Thalia wouldn't be caught in the middle of it all.

So here I was in this same parking lot, barely three days since I'd last seen her. This morning I had asked Beckendorf, a camper and undercover spy, to see if he could get me a ride. I just needed to drive around and just clear my thoughts.

Fortunately, the son of Hephaestus did not disappoint. He managed to get my car-well, not my actual car-but the same one. A black mustang and even when I was inside, I couldn't tell a difference had it not been for the license plate.

"I think he said the keys would be in the glove compartment..." I murmured to myself turning to the passenger seat.

"Looking for these?" A voice said, clanging the metal object.

With a sigh, I sunk back in the driver's seat. Busted. "Father."

"Perseus." He said mockingly. Even though the sun was setting, my father's face was still visible. He was in Luke's body so he had the demigod's trademark features-heavily gelled hair, boy next door looks, and a wicked scar that started at his left temple and traveled to a stop just past his left eye. Kronos was sporting typical Luke-gear. A sweater and khaki pants that made him look like a teacher. But he was far from that, he was the walking embodiment of evil.

I could only imagine what mortals thought we looked like-two teenagers, maybe even brothers, calling each other "son" and "father."

"Planning to run away from your old man so soon? You wound me."

"Yeah, right." I scoffed before staring him right in the eye. They were gold like mine. "I'm not running, I made a deal and I intend to keep my end of it. But I didn't agree to be here 24/7 like some house slave. I just need to drive somewhere. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Somewhere forty four hours, 2, 952 miles away? Somewhere like Long Island, New York?"

I placed my hands on the steering wheel, clutching it until my knuckles turned stark white. "I just need to see her one more time. I won't talk to her or anyone else."

A pause.

"Okay." The titan waved the keys in front of me and I took them, surprised.

"Okay?" I questioned, gripping the object.

"What is this-the fault in our stars? Yes, you can go. I just need you to do a teeny, tiny favor for me." The corner of his lips pulled up and I had a feeling this wasn't just a "teeny, tiny" favor.

I cursed myself silently for not thinking that there would be some catch to it. It had to be something dangerous. Kill someone-perhaps. Not Thalia, because then I'd die and he couldn't use me as a host if I died. Annabeth was probably long gone-off with the hunt. I assumed Grover was traveling the world, letting everyone know that Pan was dead, just as the god of the wild had instructed him to do. Chiron was immortal. Tyson was probably in Poseidon's undersea palace and Nico was most likely back in his little creepy club. And that's it, those were the only people important to me.

"Who do you want me to kill?" I asked bluntly.

"If I needed someone disposed of, I am fully capable of doing it myself."

"Yeah, the way you sent countless monsters and Luke after me clearly shows that."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, just capture you." Kronos explained then cleared his throat. "Anyway, I need you to pop in and visit your mother."

"You want me to go see Sally?" I echoed, there had to be a catch. "Are you going to make me kill her?"

"That's your decision." He said simply. "When she sees that you are no longer a pawn of the gods, she can convince your little camp the same. Then they won't try to convert you with the power of love or whatever they teach in that wretched camp for weaklings. After you drop by Sally's, you can go see whoever you want for all I care. I'll have the Andromeda pick you up at a nearby harbor."

I narrowed my eyes at him and he simply chuckled. "A simple thank you would suffice, Perseus."

"Go to hell." I spat, revving the engine. As the car roared to life, Kronos took it as his cue to leave. The titan closed the door behind him and gave me a smirk as he crossed the parking lot, heading into the building. I was tempted to get out of the car and clock him but I had to calm down. Rolling down the windows, I backed out of the lot and got on the road to New York.

I drove for forty eight hours straight, thinking of nothing on my way there. I was just there to check in on my mom and then I'd go see Thalia. I temporarily took away some of her memories of her time in Mount Tam so she shouldn't know that I was on Kronos' side now. If her memories had returned, then I'd just check to make sure she was at camp. In and out.

I pulled into a small, suburban neighborhood that overlooked a sparkling lake. The house at the end of the street was my mom's-she had bought it shortly after returning from Tartarus. She currently worked at a candy shop but had begun taking writing classes at NYU. She was currently working with her agent to get her book published. I wasn't sure what Paul was doing but no doubt he was working in the medical field. I parked on the curb of my mom's colonial style house. The white picket fence and a wash of sky blue made the house more prominent. Killing the engine, I stepped out of the car and walked up to the house, ringing the door bell.

My mom answered the door mid ring. Her chocolate brown hair was in a messy bun and she was wearing an apron like I'd caught her in the middle of baking. Full, expressive lips spread to reveal a dazzling smile that reached her eyes. They were brown now but they changed in the light-kaleidscope eyes. "The prodigal son has returned. Oh my, have you gotten taller?" My mother pulled me into a hug and I caught a whiff of her scent-smelled like laundry detergent and vanilla.

"Hey, mom. Sorry for not stopping by earlier...I've been busy."

"I know. I heard about the battle." Her tone was somber as she pulled me inside and closed the door behind her. We walked down the foyer to the barely furnished kitchen/dining area. She seemed to still be unpacking-the TV wasn't hooked up and she had boxes for furniture. We went into the kitchen where she offered me freshly baked, blue chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. The blue dye was how she had originally planned to reveal my godly patronage to me-blue was the color of the sea and I was the son of a sea god. But that didn't pan out, obviously.

"Did you lose some friends in the battle?" She asked, handing me a fold away chair.

"A few." I told her, sighing. Beckendorf had filled me on the aftermath and it wasn't easy saying those names. "Not many that I knew personally, but many unclaimed campers. I knew two of them-Castor, son of Dionysus. He had a twin that made it. Jake Mason, son of Hephaestus."

"I'm sorry about your friends, Percy. I'm glad you're in one piece though." She said sincerely. "So where's Annabeth and Thalia? Annabeth promised she'd see me sometime."

"She joined the hunters of Artemis actually." I told her, finishing my milk. "She's probably off with them now."

"Probably? Whe-" Sally was interrupted with the sound of keys in the doorway. A burst of air blew my hair back as the front door swung open and heavy footsteps made their way toward the kitchen.

"You're back earlier than usual, honey." My mom practically floated over to Paul who gave a her quick kiss before nodding to me.

"Hey, Percy. How are you?" He greeted, tousling my hair like I was a kid. Nice.

"Hanging in there. How's the new job?" I asked, gesturing to his crisp trousers and dress shirt.

"Good, I just started last week. I teach health at Good high school." He said, setting down his briefcase. He wore these rimmed glasses that framed his brown eyes and loosened his tie before leaning by the counter next to Sally. The couple smiled at me and I couldn't but think that had things turned out differently, I could truly be considered part of their family. Sally and I still had a long ways to go and once I told her I was on Kronos' side, the little relationship we had would be completely severed.

"It's one of the best schools around. I know that things are going to get even more intense at camp and I really think you kids could use some normalcy. You and Thalia would enjoy Goode, I can put in a good word for you two." Paul offered, his eyes kind.

"That's sounds great, Paul, it really does but we can't. The war could start up any moment and I really can't be worried about classes while trying to stay alive." I sighed, deciding that now was the time to come clean. "Besides, Thalia and I...we're not together anymore." That statement was left hanging in the air and while there was some truth to it, we hadn't officially broken up. But then again, I left her to join my titan father who wants to take over the world.

"I don't understand..." Sally started, a gasp escaping her lips. "You two loved each other. Last time I saw you, you were practically inseparable."

"Yeah well, there's this person-Kronos-and he drove a pretty massive wedge between us. It's a long story but anyway, I've basically sold my soul to him so yeah. That was fun."

Paul's eyes widened like saucers while my mom laughed uncomfortably. "That's not funny, Percy." The sight seeing mortal untied her apron and switched it out for a scarf.

"I'm not lying. I joined Kronos and he's going to use me to take over the world." Yawning, I got up and almost laughed at their expressions. Paul was still shocked but slightly wary and my mom kept shaking her head, not wanting to meet my eyes.

"You wouldn't do that, Percy. I know you wouldn't." She said, outstretching her hand toward me. It was trembling-she was afraid of me.

That was the moment I just snapped. In kahoots with Kronos or not, my mom would still somehow alienate me like I was the black sheep of the family. I don't even think she knew that this was all her fault-she was the one who had an affair with Poseidon. I didn't ask for this, the only thing I ever asked for was her and she couldn't even be my mother. All my life, all I had wanted was for someone to look past the part of me that was half titan and I thought a mother was supposed to love their child unconditionally.

Guess I was wrong.

"You don't know me and don't even act like you tried. You used me to get him," I gestured to Paul who was looking between the two of us apprehensively. "You don't love me and let's be honest, I think a part of you was hoping I had died in the battle."

"None of that is true. Okay? None of it." Sally tried to grasp my wrist as I started to leave and forced me to look her in the eyes. "This is going to take time but eventually, we're going to be a family. The three of us. I can't make up for the past and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I left you alone. I'm sorry that you had look at for yourself because I wasn't there. I'm sorr-"

"You don't know what I went through!" I barked at her, gripping her wrist with my free hand. "I was by myself for fourteen goddamn years and no one gave a damn whether I lived or died until I got to camp. Then you showed up and I thought-I foolishly thought-that you would be the mom I searched for my entire life. I thought about you every day, what you looked like, what Kronos was doing to you and when I finally met you, all you wanted was him. It's always going to be him over me. Your own son."

Sally swallowed, her face flushed with heat. "Percy, let go of me. You're hurting me. We can talk this out, please."

"I'm tired of fucking talking!" I yelled, my chest rising and falling quickly. I was done with her and I was done trying to force her into the mother I wanted her to be. I deserved more than this and she...she deserved death.

I flicked my wrist and Sally's snapped back, making a crunching sound. She cried out, stumbling backwards.

"Sally!" Paul caught her and pointed a kitchen knife at me. Wow. "I know Kronos sent you to kill us, Percy. You don't have to do this, this isn't what you want."

"I'm not Kronos' little bitch, alright?" I laughed harshly. "I'm not being forced to kill you-I just want to." I walked over to the couple, Sally clutching onto Paul for dear life. With one swift move, I wrenched the knife out of the mortal's hands and stabbed the man's thigh.

Paul went down with thud, coughing up blood.

"No, no, no." My mom said, her panicked voice rising with each octave.

The blood began to pool out from underneath his body and I shoved the knife in his other thigh this time.

"Percy, stop! Please!" Sally pleaded, using her body shield the wounded man. "Stay with me, honey. You'll be okay." She told him as a strangled gasp escaped his lips.

"I'll do whatever you want." She told me, her voice quaking. "Just stop. Please stop hurting him."

I thought about it for a while then bent down to face her. I dragged the knife on the tile floor, causing a scraping sound-like nails on a chalkboard. "Kill him."

"W-what?" The mortal choked out as I placed the knife in her hands.

"Kill him or I will do it myself. And trust me, you don't want the latter."

"I can't." Her lower lip trembled and she dropped the weapon. The clattering sound deafened my ears and I was getting real annoyed. Time to wrap this up.

"Your loss." Before she could stop me, I picked up the knife and stabbed his lower artery. When Sally realized I was only wounding him so that he'd slowly bleed out, she tackled me. The sudden weight took me for surprise and the knife was kicked across the kitchen. I caught the woman by the neck as she thrashed blindly against me, landing blow after blow.

I picked her up by the throat, placing just enough pressure to temporarily block her airway. "Scream and I'll kill anyone who comes in here-neighbors, police." I released the mortal and she fell to the floor, coughing. I kicked the knife toward her and bent down once more to meet her eyes. They were tortured and full of hate for me.

Now that was the expression she wanted to show all along.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered to the dying man who managed to nod. He placed his blood stained hands over hers and together they clutched the hilt. Paul guided the knife directly above his heart.

"In and out." He croaked out, tears streaming down his face. "I...love you."

"I love you too." Sally sobbed out, the sob wracking her entire frame. She started crying uncontrollably and her hands shook as the knife hovered above Paul's chest.

"Tik tok. I've got places to be." I reminded her, getting bored...and hungry.

"You're a monster, Percy Jackson." Sally spit on me, revolted. "I knew that when I first held you."

My right hand rose to wipe the substance off my cheek and I lowered my lashes, shielding my eyes from her. "You really shouldn't have said that."

I lunged forward, placed my hands on top of the mortals, and plunged the knife down. As I held it down, Sally tried desperately to wrench it up so it wouldn't hit any important arteries.

"I should've killed you when you born!" She screamed, clawing at my hand.

"Too late." I twisted the knife to the right to hit the aorta and knew I had hit it when the blood sprayed out of Paul's chest and onto us. The crimson substance splattered on Sally's shirt and her face looked ghostly pale.

She reared backwards, face devoid of emotion. Oh, she thought she could fight me? Bring it on.

At an unforeseen signal, she charged, somehow managing to throw me onto the fridge. My head hit the cold, hard appliance and for a moment I saw stars. With a growl, I got up and Sally swung a pan at my knees. They gave out from underneath me and suddenly I was on the ground, looking up at vengeful Sally. She pinned my elbows down with her knees, crushing them with her weight.

I gasped out in pain, trying to push her off. She blindly reached for something on the nearby counter and when she got it, I caught the gleam of the knife. I jerked my entire weight to the left and got out from underneath her. The sudden shift caused the knife to scatter away and I had managed to pin her down.

She bucked wildly underneath me as I gripped her head with both hands. I lifted her up to meet my eyes and the fear in hers was unlike any either I'd ever seen before.

"Have a nice trip to hell, mom." Then I slammed her head down, causing a sickening crunch. The impact created a dent in the back of her head and a tortured scream left her lips as she drew in her final breaths.

"I," I rose her head before I violently slammed it down again. "Fucking," This time with more force and her flesh finally gave out, seeping out organs and blood vessels. "Hate." By now, Sally was long gone but it felt so good to give her death she really deserved. "You," I slammed it down more violently this time, causing blood to erupt and wash over me.

Out of breath, I shakily rose and looked over at Paul. His eyes were fixated on Sally and his chest barely rose. By the time I got around to burying him, he'd be dead. So I let him carry on with the short life he had left then started to clean up. I found a few towels and started the grueling task.

As easy as blood was to spill, it was harder to clean. I placed Sally and Paul on a bed sheet and into the foyer where I could still see Paul blinking at me.

"What?" I demanded, rising out the blood soaked towel in the sink. "It's blood, not nuclear waste. Chill out."

No response. Huh. I whistled while mopping, thinking of what I should get to eat. Italian? Maybe. I bleached the floors and sink down, grabbing a black trash bag. I cleaned off the knife that was buried in Paul's chest, placing it and the towels in the bag. It was dark by now so I cleaned up, placed my bloody clothes in the bag and borrowed one of Paul's white shirt and jeans. They were baggy on me but they'd do.

"You don't mind me borrowing this, do you?" I asked him. Two blinks this time. "I knew you wouldn't, thanks buddy."

I brought my car round back and into the garage. It was almost midnight when I placed Paul, Sally, and the black bag into the trunk and drove around town, looking for a place to bury the bodies. I parked the car outside some woods, grabbing the bodies but leaving the black bag. The mortal police would find them eventually and at this point, I didn't really care.

Thus, I trekked through the woods, dragging the body of my dead mother and her almost dead boyfriend behind me.

* * *

Once I felt that I had placed the adequate amount of dirt on the bodies, I left the cemetery and grabbed a quick bite at local burger joint before heading to the docks. Once there, the Princess Andromeda cruise liner was docked and waiting for me. A flight of stairs opened up like a harmonica to meet me and I boarded the ship.

A lone figure was at its helm, overlooking the calm waters.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Kronos asked, acknowledging my presence.

"I'd say so." I replied, massaging my right hand.

"What's wrong with your hand?" My father asked.

"Oh, it's just starting to cramp up. It happens when I don't give myself a break between stabs."

Kronos smiled, pride evident in his eyes. "I didn't order you to kill her."

"Them. Sally and Paul." I corrected, glancing at him. "Besides, you knew that I would do it. That's why you sent me there."

"I had an inkling but clearly, all you needed a little push in the right direction." When I didn't respond, he continued. "I killed my father too. Castrated him and took his throne actually. Good times...good times."

"Nice." I murmured sarcastically.

"I know. Anyway, what of the girl?"

"I didn't go see her." I told him and I wasn't sure why I hadn't. I guess I got too caught up with Sally and Paul.

"You can still go if you'd like. We depart on the morrow."

I rose a brow, what was his angle? I considered it but thought better. "I think I'd rather send her a message. Can you arrange for the mortal police to search the cemetery by 47th street?"

The titan snapped his finger and his eyes glowed a bright gold for a moment. "It is done but why would you want her to know about the bodies? She'll think poorly of you then. Not that I care, though."

"You said you wanted the camp to know that I'm on your side now-killing Paul and Sally will send a loud and clear message. She needs to know that I don't need my mother anymore. That I'm not some broken child in need of repair. I don't need parents. I don't need anybody." I backed away from the railing, keeping my gaze on my father.

"And I sure as hell don't want to be saved."

* * *

 **A/N-Dun dun dun! Yeah, so that was the first chapter of Destined. I know I threw an entire info dump at the beginning of the chapter but I wanted to give a recap of the previous books and didn't want to sprinkle it throughout this fic. Got it? Okay, so as always if you have any question check my FAQs on my profile and if it isn't answered there then leave a review or PM me and I'll respond ASAP. Updates are on Sundays and ya, see you then!**


	2. Game on

**A/N-Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Thalia**

 **I feverishly wrung out another towel, placing it on his cold, clammy forehead.** Beads of sweat trickled down from his hairline and somehow even in this state, he looked as beautiful as ever.

"I'm a sight for sore eyes, aren't I?" He coughed out, settling into his bed. Alot of things had happened in this cabin-our first time and now, his death.

I let out a strangled laugh, trying to keep myself together. I wanted cry, to just let the dam burst but not yet. I had to hold it in.

"You should go now," He told me, placing a freezing cold hand onto mine. "They'll come for me soon. I don't want to be around for what happens next."

"No, I'm not leaving you. I can't believe you'd even ask me to do something like that." I shook my head, squeezing his hand. It was weak and flimsy against mine. He didn't have much time. "Besides, it's not over yet. You didn't fight your way back just die on me. There's always another way. There has to be."

The demigod closed his eyes, a small smile graced his face. There was a pregnant pause and after a moment, I hovered over him to make sure he was alive.

"I'm still breathing, Sweetheart." Gold, smoldering eyes met mine and it took everything I had to lean back and remember how to breath. "You can't get rid of me so easily." He teased.

"No more dead jokes, please. I can't..." My voice dried up and my mouth felt like a desert. Although I couldn't say it, my mind finished the sentence: _I can't lose you._

"But I'm not dying, am I?" He cocked a brow, his chest struggling to heave in a breath. "Even in death, I manage to upstage everybody."

I gave him a watery smile, trying to avoid crying. "Your ego knows no limit."

"None." The boy pushed himself up with a groan causing me to lean forward to support him.

"What are you doing? Lay back down." I said, frantic. Why was he trying to make this more difficult?

"Dance with me." He said, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and using the bed post to support himself. He drew up to his full height and extended a weak hand to me. "Please."

Not trusting myself to speak, I ducked into his outstretched arms and wrapped my arms around his neck gently. He wrapped his arms around me, humming as we swayed side to side. Hearing his heart having to labor just to stay alive shattered me. One of the strongest people I knew was now having to fight his body to stay alive. Now he was dying. When I envisioned my future, this wasn't what I imagined. I thought it was going to be us against the world. Surviving the war and going to college, starting a family, and dying of old age together. Not this.

"When I'm gone, I wa-" He started but I shook my head, interrupting him.

"No, you don't get to say that. It's not over. Not yet."

"But Sweetheart, it is. I've been circling the drain ever since my first quest. Everything that I've done, it's got me to this point. I was destined for this." He held my face, forcing me to look at him. "You, however, are destined for a happier life. When this is all over, I want you to be happy. I want you to move on and find someone that makes you happy. I want you to have everything that you want in life."

"But I want those things with you!" I cried out, clutching his shirt. "You make me happy. You. You deserved all those things too. This isn't fair." I let myself break down, sobbing into his chest. I'd never felt so hopeless before. "We're the heroes, aren't we? Why don't we get a happy ending?"

"We're not just any heroes, we're _Greek_ heroes. You know what that means?" He lifted my head, eyes soft and warm.

"No." I whispered, choking on my own tears.

"Greek heroes are best known for tragedies. We're the tragic heroes. We suffer so that others don't have to."

"That's so...stupid." I managed to say. "Who told you that crap? Annabeth?"

The boy shook his head, guiding my head to his chest. "Thank you, Thalia."

"For what?" I asked, burying my head in his neck. I breathed in his woodsy musk, committing it to memory. The sun had set and our time together was coming to close. They were coming for them.

"For loving me." He replied simply.

I gasped, the wind knocked out of me at his statement. I squeezed my eyes shut as he planted a light kiss on my lips. "Well, you certainly didn't make it easy."

He chuckled and began to hum again.

I let the soft lull fill the silence before I spoke again, my voice barely a whisper. "When I first met you, I didn't want to fall in or need someone. I really didn't want anything. But then, you came along and I started wanting everything. Thank you for finding the parts of me I didn't know existed and in you, I found a love I no longer believed was real."

Percy smiled and pulled me closer. "So you love me?"

"If that wasn't obvious, yes, you dork, I love you." I laughed but the sound caught in my throat as the door rattled open.

"They're here." I said, panicked. "Hide. I'll stall. I won't let them take you."

"No, no more running." He said, exhaling deeply. "Close your eyes."

I did as he commanded, burying myself further into him. If this was the end, I'd hold onto him for as long as possible.

The door flew open and they stepped inside. I couldn't see exactly where they were but he did.

"Take care, Thalia Grace." He kissed my forehead and I felt moisture when he pulled his lips back. He was crying. He was scared...scared of dying.

"Goodbye, Percy Jackson."

He must've given them a nod because then, without any warning, he was gone. My arms were wrapped around the air and I swung around but they weren't there either.

I was alone and he was gone.

* * *

"Hey, are you paying attention?" Annabeth's voice broke me out of daydream and returned my attention to the world. "I can't stay here too long, you know?"

"Yeah, I know the rules about the mess hall tables." I said, my ears deafened by the sound of campers conversing and the clattering of silverware. I picked up my fork, picking at my eggs, and motioned for the hunter to continue. "You were saying something about time."

"I said that when I came over to your table-ten minutes ago."

"Sorry, I've been having weird dreams. Or nightmares, actually." I admitted, chewing on my bottom lip. What did they mean? Who were they? My dad and some other Olympians? Where did they take Percy? So many questions...

"I'd talk to Chiron about it since it's been happening often. You want to talk about them?"

"No, maybe later. They're nothing I can't handle. Fill me in on this time thing."

"We have precisely less than a year. It's March and Grover's been reporting some skirmishes here and there. The prophecy doesn't come into effect until he's eighteen so we have until December to try to prevent world war three."

I didn't comment on the way Annabeth avoided saying Percy's name because I knew she was hurt by his betrayal. She never showed it but it was obvious in the way she wouldn't say his name. "Okay so are we planning to take down some of their fleets? Convert their allies to our side? What's the game plan?"

"That's for you to find out, Thalia. I'm leaving in two days."

"Can't you ask Artemis for more time? Maybe you can convince her that the hunt should stay-just for backup in case something happened." I was pulling at strings here. I wasn't ready to let her go.

"She's been generous enough to let me stay even now that it's been three days since you've been up. I have to go and besides, you can figure this one out by yourself. You got this."

"Right. I'll figure something out." I said, already planning on a perfect way to stall the titans. I was going to need some serious firepower-like explosives.

"Besides, all we really need to do is get him back." Annabeth's eyes were a bright gray, full of hope. "If there's anyone who can do that, it's you."

I swallowed, not really knowing what to say. Luckily I didn't have to, because Mr. D starting giving us the evil eye from the front of the mess hall.

"You better go. We have eyes on us." I told the girl.

She glanced at Mr. D before nodding. "Okay, see you later."

I muttered a farewell as Annabeth went back to the Athena table, sitting amongst her siblings. My eyes wandered to my right, to Poseidon's table. Tyson had left for his father's palace after I ended my dramatic tale of my time at Mount Tam yesterday. But there was something more than the cyclops' absence to table's emptiness. If I closed my eyes, I could vividly imagine Percy sitting there, making silly faces at me to pass the time.

Thinking about him did weird and funny things to my stomach. Learning that he had killed Sally and Paul only created more unease but there was still something about that whole entire situation that I couldn't shake. Chiron had given me an article about their deaths and an anonymous caller tipped off the police to where the bodies where buried, not to mention a neighbor reported seeing Percy arrive alone at his mom's house. If Kronos sent him to kill them, Percy didn't have to go through with it. He did it on purpose, out of his own free will.

He was sending out a message-that he was far beyond the point of return. He didn't want me to save him and he thought that killing his mother and Paul would deter me. Well, he was going to have to try a little harder than that.

I ate my breakfast in silence and went about my day in that same fashion. That's how the majority of days had been spent-being avoided. I knew that the other campers were nervous around me, especially now that Percy went off on the deep end but I was fine. Well, I was managing. I didn't have time to pencil in a mental breakdown and if I fell apart now, there'd be no one to save Percy. He had done so much for me-taking the fall for Lee's death, saving me from the titans-and the least I could do was bring him back from the edge.

Unknowingly, I clasped the seashell pendant on my camp necklace, trying to focus on Chiron's lecture. After class was over, I began to stream out of the room with the other campers but a hand pulled me back.

"Hey, Thalia." Silena Beauregard pulled me into the hallway, away from the general stream of campers. "How are you holding up?"

I shouldered my bag, shifting my weight to one side. "I'm fine. What's up?"

"Charlie wants to talk with you. He said to meet him at Zeus' fist after dinner." Silena's face fell and I had a feeling something else was bothering her.

"Okay, I can do that..." I trailed off, not wanting to say more. Silena didn't know that Beckendorf was double spy-he posed as a guard for the titans and reported back to Chiron who originally sent him there to sniff out another spy but so far, there was no luck. "Is something wrong?"

"I think he's cheating on me." The girl blurted out, her hand flying to her mouth as she said it. Before I could even start denying that statement, she continued, rambling. "I mean, he's gone for months at a time. He doesn't tell me where he's been and at first, I tried to just go along with it but he's just been so distant. I don't know what I did wrong, we got into an argument once-"

"He's not cheating on you. I swear on Styx, he would never do such a thing." The familiar sound of lightning struck in the distance and the girl quieted, letting me continue. "Beckendorf adores you. He looks at you like you invented air. Besides, you're a daughter of Aphrodite, I think you would know about that kind of stuff."

"You're right and I'm overreacting, as usual." The girl grinned sheepishly, her eyes a beautiful sky blue. "I just know that he's the one for me and I've never felt so strongly about someone before. Even as the daughter of a freaking love goddess, I just can't put the extent of my love in words. It's feels like-"

"Like you're falling every time you're around him; like you can't seem to catch your breath." I finished, a flash of pang striking at my heart. I knew _exactly_ how she felt.

"Exactly." Silena breathed, nodding. "So, do you know why he wants to meet with you later?"

I started to speak but then thought better. If Beckendorf didn't tell her, I doubted I should. "I can't tell you, I'm sorry. I would if I could, I really would."

If Silena was disappointed, she didn't seem to show it. She offered me a smile, pulling me in a for a brief hug before releasing me. "Then I'm sure it's something dangerous but incredibly heroic."

Clamping my mouth shut, I bit my lip. I wanted to tell her but there was no way she would let Beckendorf go on the mission with me. As selfish as it was, I needed the son of Hephaestus' help. It was my only chance of getting Percy back before the impending war broke out.

"Just promise me one thing," Silena was saying and I nodded.

"Anything."

"Do your best to protect him. If you have to drag him back to me, then do so. Please, Thalia." She clasped my hands, hope swirling in those blue eyes. "I can't live without him."

A small voice in the back of my mind reminded me of the promise I made to Nico nearly a year ago. I promised to protect his sister and I had failed. But this time it was different-Beckendorf was more experienced compared to Bianca who had just found out that she was a half blood prior to the quest to find Artemis. The titans thought he was on their side, they wouldn't kill him without a valid reason. This time things would be different and I was more than confident that I could get the both of us out in one piece.

"Of course. I won't let anything happen to him."

Silena let out a silent breath and nodded, relieved. "Good, I'm sorry I kind of dumped that on you. It's just that...the titans are so horrible and they would kill Charlie without hesitating."

"Trust me, I know how bad those guys are." A shiver ran down my spine and I tugged on my cardigan to keep warm. "Don't worry about Beckendorf. It'll be a quick get in and get out mission."

"Thank you so much, Thalia. I don't know what I'd do without you." Silena squealed and squeezed my hand. "I hope everything works out between you and Percy. Love can conquer anything."

My lips parted but no words came out. Aphrodite would've said the exact same thing and no doubt the goddess was dismayed at her otp's separation. I murmured a good bye to my friend before promptly spinning on my heels and heading to the mess hall.

Apart from small talk with Annabeth, I ate my dinner in silence. I noticed Beckendorf wasn't at the Hephaestus table but shrugged it off, figuring that he'd show up at the rendezvous spot. After dinner, I followed the stream of campers out but instead of heading to my cabin, I headed toward the hill where a large mound of boulders sat. Beckendorf was leaning on one of those rocks, his hair even curlier and stature even more burly than when I had last seen him.

"Hey," He greeted, smiling lopsidedly as he waved a rolled up piece of paper at me. "Ready for a midnight swim?"

"That depends. What do you have in mind?" I rose a brow. What did he have up his sleeve now?

He unwrapped the paper and patted the ground beside him.

I sat, recognizing the blue print. "We're targeting the Princess Andromeda?"

"Yes, ma'am." The demigod had a hint of madness in his eyes. "We're going to make it go ka boom."

* * *

After explaining and running through the worst case scenarios, I finally had the mission down to a T.

"Alright, I go in through the air ducts while you use your guard key to get in through the normal entrance. We meet up at the engine room and you assemble the bomb, then set the timer. We take a lifeboat that you stashed away on the side of the ship and skeet skeet."

"You got it. It's a simple get in and get out."

His words reminded me of the conversation I had with Silena earlier and I sat back, leaning on a boulder. "I'm thinking you should tell Silena about the double spy thing. She's starting to draw her own conclusion and they're...not good."

"Care to elaborate?"

I bit my bottom lip. "She thought you were cheating on her. I assured her that you weren't and that it was nothing of the sort."

Beckendorf's reaction was as expected. He started laughing, his laughter booming and causing vibrations in the ground. He attempted to make some attempt at speaking but laughter was all he could produce.

I cracked a small smile, rolling my eyes. "Only Silena would come up with that."

"Damn straight." He agreed, coming down from his laughter high. "She really thought that?"

"Yeah, she was really worried." I confirmed, snorting. Attractive, I know.

"Wow. That is...something. Please, I was surprised I managed to pull her out of all people. There's no way I could get another person at the same time."

I laughed with him, feeling the weight of the world leave my shoulders temporarily.

Then the demigod brought us back to reality. "I'll tell her after this mission. I even told her a bit about this mission. I've gotten the okay from Chiron and she deserves to know."

"Good because you know that girl will come up with something with something even more ridiculous." I chuckled then tilted my head. "So when is the mission to annihilate the world's most evil cruise ship?"

Beckendorf glanced at his watch before responding. "About an hour from now."

"What?" I almost choked on my saliva, shaking my head rapidly. "Percy's on that ship-I thought we were doing the mission after we got him back."

"Thalia, we only have a few months until his eighteenth birthday, the same he decides whether to save or crush Olympus. Right now, it's looking like he wants to crush us to a pulp. We don't have time. We're doing this mission to stall the titans and get him back. Killing two birds with one stone and all."

"He's not going to come with us."

"I never said anything about getting him willingly. We just have to get him, kicking and screaming if necessary." The son of Hephaestus rose, rolling up the blueprint then placing it in his back pocket. "He should be in room 321-first floor, the furthest door to the right. Get him before meeting me in the engine room." He pulled out a small box from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it, puzzled as I looked up at my friend. "Pills?"

"Rohypnol. You probably going to have to shove it down his throat."

"You expect me to use a date rape drug on my boyfriend?" I blinked, making sure I heard him right.

Beckendorf looked away, a dark shadow casting over his face. He looked almost transparent in the pale moonlight. "You're going to need to drug him." He adjusted his backpack that held all the equipment we needed for the mission. "Percy doesn't even seem human anymore. He's not even half titan and definitely not half god. He's something else entirely...he's pure, unbridled evil. I'm not even sure if there's any humanity left in him. He's beyond the point of repair, he's barely salvageable."

My breath stalled in my chest and I was grateful that the cover of darkness hid the tears streaming down my face. "I can save him."

"I hope you're right, Thalia." Beckendorf extended a hand and helped me up, looking at me dead in the eye. "Because if you can't, humanity is doomed."

* * *

Crawling through air ducts wasn't my ideal way to spend a saturday night. But so far, everything was going well. Beckendorf and I were able to communicate via earpiece and as long as I stayed within a five mile radius of the ship, we could hear and respond to each other just fine. The son of Hephaestus had made his way to the engine room and was setting the bomb. The cruise ship would've been rather nice had it not been for the monsters roaming around it.

I followed a map Beckendorf had given me and stopped at the end of the air duct. There was a opening and I shimmed through it then landed on the carpeted floor, rearing up to my full height. There was no monster or anyone in the hallway but I pulled up my hoodie anyways, keeping to the right side of the hallway.

319, no a few more doors down. 320...321. I stopped in front of the door, hesitating to open it. I gripped the knob and mentally prepared myself for the emotional onslaught. The Percy that was behind the door wasn't the one that sacrificed himself for me nearly a month ago. He was different, unpredictable but still Percy. I wasn't going to give him a chance to speak or to fight, I was going to shove these pills down his throat and drag him to engine room.

"You got this, Thals." I told myself, turning the knob.

The door flew open and an unexpected figure stood in the doorway. I let go of the pills I had stashed in my pocket and immediately whipped out my mace canister, turning it into a spear and activating my shield, Aegis.

"Kelli." I snarled, remembering the empousa who Luke had summoned to kill my friends and kidnap me right after he had betrayed us in Daedalus' workshop. Right now, she posed as a normal human-caramel colored skin and brown hair that fell down in curls to her waist. She wore a little black dress that barely covered her ass but I knew her true form. In her true form, she had completely white skin, flaming hair, fangs, one bronze leg and one donkey leg, and red eyes.

The monster smiled innocently, leaning against the doorpost. "Looking for someone?"

"What have you done with Percy?"

"Nothing." She made a movement to block the door and I was sure that was a sign that he was in there. "You know, I don't know what he saw in you. Bad hairstyle, crooked teeth, annoying as hell. I can barely stand to be around you now, I have no idea how he managed to be around you for almost two years. Must've built up a tolerance."

I gritted my teeth and gripped my spear tighter. "Where is he?"

"Resting." Kelli answered, her heels clicking as she took a step forward, closing the door behind her.

"I'm sure he's had a long day planning the world's demise." I retorted.

Kelli's smirk was infuriating as ever. "And an even longer night."

All the amusement drained out of me and I froze, completely forgetting why I was here. All I could focus on were her words and her sly smirk. "You're lying."

"Am I?" She laughed, circling me like a hawk. "Percy has so much stamina and I'm not just talking on the battlefield. You know he drools when he sleeps, right?"

"Shut up." I snapped, beginning to see red. "Shut. the. hell. up."

"Seems I've hit a nerve." The empousa stopped in front of me, her smile even wider. "In all my centuries, I can definitely say that Percy is the best I've ever had."

"You bitch!" I tackled the monster, slamming her into the wall. She shifted to her true form then lunged for my neck, baring her fangs. I sidestepped, sweeping my right leg behind her knees. Kelli landed hard on her back and I pressed a foot to her throat, slightly pressing on her vocal cords.

"Thalia!"

Immediately, I snapped my head toward the voice-recognizing it as Beckendorf's. When I realized it wasn't in my earpiece, I cursed. He got caught.

I kicked Kelli aside, busting open room 321. Apart from a few clothes strewn on the floor, the room was empty. I checked the closet and the bathroom. No sign of Percy.

"Where is he?" I demanded Kelli who was struggling to get back up.

Her face had turned an ugly shade of purple and one of her fangs was missing. "You were so distracted with me, we managed to catch your little friend setting a bomb in the engine room." She spat out blood, wiping the corner of her mouth. "Percy's not on the ship. You've sent your friend to an early grave for nothing."

Fear drenched me and without even realizing it, I began to sprint toward the engine room. On my way there, I spotted a commotion on the deck and saw Kronos. The titan lord was still in my ex-friend, Luke's body but his gold eyes gave him away.

I started forward and Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the deck's swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so fast unless they'd known I was coming.

I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.

I was going to have to fight my way out of this one.

"Come forward," he said as if he read my thoughts. "If you dare."

The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I clutched my shield and spear, raising it.

Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands-a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel. Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged.

Time slowed down. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my spear. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death.

I tried to fight his magic.

I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. Dracaenae hissed with laughter.

I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face-Luke's face-a guy who was once my best friend. My first friend and first love. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him.

Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet.

I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator.

Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Aegis, but his strike was so powerful, my shield could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body. Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away.

I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that.

Kronos laughed. "A rather poor performance, Thalia Grace. My son could definitely do better."

My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "You have no right to talk about him," I said. "You blackmailed him and held me as hostage."

"It's a shame I can't kill you now," Kronos mused, "but when I break that bond those pesky, little fates put on you two. I'll send Percy himself to kill you."

"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision.

"And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face-Luke's face-seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"

He looked down at the pool and called, "Prometheus!"

A man in a pristine, pin stripped suit practically floated through the crowd. He was the first face I saw during my time on mount Tam and one of the last.

"Success, my lord," The titan called. "We found him just as we were told."

He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off.

"No!" I yelled.

Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me something. His watch. They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away.

"We found him amid ships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?"

"Soon." Kronos scowled at Prometheus. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"

"He was going toward the engine room, my lord."

"How do you know that?"

"My lord," The man shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."

Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realized he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it.

Kronos hesitated.

Buy the story, I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand.

"Open his bag," Kronos ordered.

One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.

I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger.

"Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?"

Prometheus turned pale. "Um-"

"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"

The titan stumbled backwards then turned on his heels and ran.

I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: How long?

He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle. Zero. There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both.

Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Thalia Grace. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for a few hours."

He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm-the Titan lord's symbol.

The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device ...spy at camp."

Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies."

I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him, and even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would.

Beckendorf mouthed one word: Go.

I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him.

The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly-toward the watch on his right wrist.

I wanted to scream, NO!

Then down by the swimming pool, one of the dracaenae hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?"

Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch.

I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. Picking up my spear, I pushed through a crowd of monsters and went down the side of the ship, untangling a lifeboat from its suspenders.

I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I started to paddle, getting about fifty yard from the ship.

Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything. My lifeboat flipped and I went underwater.

Beckendorf, I thought.

Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor toward the bottom of the sea.

* * *

I woke up, feeling like I was being carried by the waves. My eyes fluttered open and I was staring at all different types of sea creatures swimming along with the current. There was a dull pounding in my head but other than that, I felt fine. Sore but alive.

It took me a moment to realize that strong arms were wrapped around me and were carrying me across the ocean floor. Alarmed I sat up and followed the mystery arms that led me to one big, brown eye.

"Tyson?" I said, my voice sounding funny underwater. It was then that I noticed a giant bubble shaped around us which explained how I was able to still breathe.

The cyclops and Percy's half brother gave me a small smile. "Hi, Thalia. I found you at the bottom of the sea floor, surrounded by the shipwreck. I brought you to my daddy's palace and he fixed you up. Now, I am taking you back to camp."

"Oh. I was on that ship with someone else. Is he..."

"He did not make it." Tyson stopped, reaching in his pocket and handing me a broken watch. Beckendorf's watch. "I am sorry."

"Oh gods, Silena. I promised her I would bring him back to her." I heaved in a sob, whipping my head around wildly. "We have to go find him. We have to turn around right now-"

"It is too dangerous, Thalia. We can't."

I buried my face in my hands, allowing grief to penetrate my every fiber as Tyson carried me across the ocean floor. I wanted to cry but I felt like I had cried enough in this past month to last a lifetime. I didn't know how I was going to face Silena. How I was going to face the entire camp. Everyone loved Beckendorf, he loved life. He deserved to be here more than I did.

"Percy did something bad." Tyson voiced after a moment of silence.

"You know about Sally and Paul?" I asked, sniffling.

"Yes but he's done something different this time. Something worse."

"What's worse than killing his mother?"

Tyson pursed his lips and suddenly my ears popped and we broke through the surface. I recognized long island beach and in the distance, half blood hill. The cyclops set me down on the sand and I shakily got up. "What did Percy do?" I repeated.

"You and your friend weren't the only people to make things blow up. Percy caused an explosion at mount Saint Helens in Washington, he released the father of all monsters and the storm giant: Typhon. The gods barely beat him in the first war; Daddy is being attacked by Oceanus, his titan foe. Most of the other gods are battling their own titan counterpart. Daddy thinks that they might not come together to defeat Typhon."

"If Typhon gets to New York, he'll destroy the entire east coast. The gods will have to stop him when he nears Olympus." I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. These days, it seems like I always trying water down Percy's actions but with every move he made, he was making it harder to defend him.

"I know my brother has gone bad but he's not a bad person. He will come back to us."

"I know." I gave Tyson a hug and watched him disappear underneath the waves. He was needed in Poseidon's forges so he could only accompany me to camp before returning. The weight of the world heaved down on my shoulders as I made my way uphill, prepared to be the bringer of bad news.

The lookout on duty was Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. When he spotted me, he got so excited he fell out of his tree. Then he blew the conch horn to signal the camp and ran to greet me.

"Thalia!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's Beckendorf?"

Then he saw my expression, and his smile melted. "Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out . . ."

Together we climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward us, smiling and excited. I gazed across the valley and tried to keep my emotions in check. Silena would be the hardest to face.

Chiron galloped into the pavilion first. "Thalia!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ."

Annabeth ran in right behind him, her parka blowing in the wind."What happened?" She grabbed my arm. "Where's Percy? Is Luke-"

"The ship blew up," I said. "He wasn't destroyed. Percy wasn't there."

Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which wasn't like her.

"Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding.

I glanced at Chiron helplessly.

The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House-"

"No," she muttered. "No. No. You promised me! You promised me you would bring him back!"

She started to cry and guilt flooded me. "Silena, I-"

Finally Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever-a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess-but somehow, it worked.

Clarisse was dressed in her bloodred combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena.

"Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see me now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship.

Only Annabeth and Chiron stayed behind.

Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Thanks," I said. "Me too."

Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Thalia. Will you tell us what happened?"

I didn't want to go through it again, but I told them the story, including what Tyson had told me.

Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We know that Typhon has escaped but had no knowledge that Percy had a hand in it. He'll make his way toward the east coast, destroying everything in near vicinity. This is a declaration of war and it's time we unleash our weapon."

"Our weapon?" I echoed.

"The prophecy. We have to read the prophecy, Thalia." Annabeth explained, a visible shudder retiring through her.

"But Percy is the child of the prophecy." I insisted, shaking my head. I wasn't ready to read a rhyme about my boyfriend's possible death and doomsday decision.

"Nonetheless, it's time. It must be read..." Chiron looked behind me, his eyes widened.

"What is it?" I began, turning around. In the distance, ten or so middle aged people walked up half blood hill. Some were wearing suits, police gear, or nursing scrubs. They looked like they had just gotten off work and headed here which was impossible because Camp Half Blood was tucked away, not visible from a distance unless you knew what to look for.

They looked mortal.

Connor's voice traveled through the wind. "Thalia! You might wanna come see this!"

I ran down the hill, Chiron and Annabeth at my heels. The ten people made a horizontal line at my tree. In their right hands was a sharp knife.

"Drop your weapons!" The centaur commanded but it was like they didn't hear him. It was as if they were in a daze, their pupils dilated.

"They're just mortals, sir." Connor informed us. "They don't seem to listen to a word we say."

Then the creepiest thing happened. The ten mortals opened their mouths and spoke in unison. "Where is Thalia Grace?"

My eyes widened and I started forward then Annabeth placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Thalia, don't." She warned. "This is way too sketchy."

"I know. I got this." I assured her, moving forward to face the mortals. "That would be me."

One man stepped forward, his right hand quivering as he brought the blade to his neck. Simultaneously, the other nine behind him did the same. "We have a message for you, Thalia."

"From who?" I questioned, eyeing their knives. What was this? Some sort of mass suicide?

"Percy Jackson." The man replied, his breath shallow. "He says 'game on, Thalia. Game on.'"

As if the last word were a cue, the ten mortals slashed their throats open, falling to the ground with a deafening thud. Connor and a few other campers rushed forward to save them but I was frozen. Annabeth was tugging me away but I couldn't budge. It was like having an out of body experience. Everything was numb and I could see people yelling, calling for the medics but all I could focus on was how the blood began inching towards me.

Percy had sent me a message and had sacrificed ten innocent mortals so I could understand the serious nature of the message.

Five words. Twice the amount killed.

Game on, Thalia. Game on.

* * *

 **A/N-Well, I updated on sunday, just an hour before midnight (where I am at least) Um, yeah I kind of, sort of began writing the bulk of this chapter today so had some catching up to do. Honestly, a late update is better than no update. See you guys next week!**


	3. An eye for an eye

**A/N- Another sunday, another update! So this chapter I'm going to start off with Percy pov, switch to Thalia, then switch back to Percy for the ending. I tried to make it super obvious but tell me if it bothers you, I can just separate pov by chapters instead. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Percy**

 **"Some party."** **I commented, kicking the burned corpse of a mortal guard.** I turned to my father who had his right arm in a cast. "What the hell happened to you?" I asked him, gesturing to his injury.

He clutched his left fist, gritting his teeth. "Why don't ask your nuisance of a girlfriend?"

At any other time, I would've made a joke about his statement but the titan Lord's eyes were a glowing gold and I knew I was talking to a ticking time bomb. Instead, I went with my second reaction-surprise. "Thalia did this?" When I arrived on the ship a mere five minutes ago, there was a giant hole in the middle of deck and half the ship was missing. Mortals, demigods, and monster remains were scattered all over the deck. Presently, I stood on what remained of the deck with Kronos and Prometheus while the mortal cleaning crew made a rather poor attempt to clean up the wreckage.

"Her and one of guards, Charles Beckendorf." Prometheus dusted ash off his pristine suit, stepping forward. "He perished in the explosion but the girl escaped. Our spy has confirmed she arrived at camp a few minutes ago."

Beckendorf's passing was news to me but I didn't dwell on it. He'd done alot for me this past month but just like everyone else, he was just passing through this world. A mere blimp in the universe.

Philosophical, I know.

"They came on the ship with the intent to destroy us. _She_ came to destroy _me_." Saying that outloud sparked something in me-outrage. She knew our lives were tied together, was she asking for a death wish? Unknowingly, I clenched my right fist, gasping as my fingernails dug into my skin.

"Goddammit!" I growled, clutching my hand. The slight pain only fueled my rage. "How dare she try to kill me. _Me_!"

"Calm down." My father said. "We think she was actually going to save you before they detonated the bomb. She went to your room looking for you."

Whatever he had just said went in one ear and out the other. Threatening and killing people was my thing. Not hers. If she wanted to play a game of cat and mouse then I was up for the challenge. I know I shouldn't be surprised at her attempt to kill me or save me (whichever one it is) because let's be frank, I've been acting pretty horrible lately.

"She needs to be punished." I concluded, starting to think of ways to torture her. I might not be able to kill her but I could inflict pain on others. That would hit her hard.

"Does he even listen to me?" Kronos muttered under his breath before straightening his polo shirt. "Whatever, I could care less about a lover's quarrel but I do love punishment. What do you have in mind?"

While I pondered a possible punishment, my eyes wandered to the mortal clean up crew. They were tossing bodies overboard and sweeping away monster ash like nobody's business. They had this glassy stare in their eyes which was a side effect of the spell they were under. Hecate had enchanted them for us and they did whatever we told them without question. That had me thinking..."Is it possible to spell mortals to kill themselves?"

"Yes, they'll do anything, even that. Their conscience is enchanted to obey our every command." Prometheus supplied. "Just say the command. With all due respect, Perseus, what does have anything to do with the girl's punishment?"

"She hates it when innocent people get hurt. I think it's a side effect of having morals or something stupid like that." I explained before turning to my father who nodded approvingly. Oh yeah, he'd go along with my plan. "I need ten mortals. Get them from anywhere, pluck them out of their jobs. If they have families, even better. Throw in a comcast employee too, those people deserve death for their terrible cable service. Women and men, just give me ten mortals. Send them to Camp-I have a message for Thalia. After they deliver the message, I want them to slit their throats."

"Brutal." Kronos smiled, glancing at the other titan. "Do as he says."

"Yes, my Lord." Prometheus pulled out a pen and pad before turning to me. "What's the message you want to send?"

I thought wisely before making up my mind. "Game on, Thalia. Game on."

The titan of premonition said nothing, just scribbled the words down before promptly walking away. Kronos and I were left, standing in the middle of all the destruction that had occurred.

"I awoke Typhon, just as you asked. Most of his energy has been depleted from his imprisonment but he'll be ready by December. He should reach New York a week before my birthday."

"That'd be music to my ears if twenty percent of my army hadn't been wiped out today." Kronos sounded more annoyed than angry. The glow in his eyes had subsided but something worse replaced them. Vengeance.

I whistled underneath my breath. I wouldn't want to be at Camp Half Blood now-he looked like he wanted to wipe out every demigod off the face of the earth.

"This means they have the upperhand over us now. We have to even out the playfield." My father mulled over this idea for a while.

"We can't kill them directly. Monsters can't get in unless invited so there goes that." I ran a hand through my hair, racking my brain. "Maybe the spy could invite them in."

"We've lost temporary contact with her." He answered and when I rose a brow, he spoke up again. "Her name is Silena Beauregard. Apparently, she was in love or something stupid like that with Charles Beckendorf. She's not too keen on answering us right now for obvious reasons."

"Wow." I commented. While I knew there was a spy at camp, I never would've guessed Silena. I chuckled under my breath, I bet she was regretting tipping us off about mission explode the Andromeda right about now. "Alright so that plan's a bust. Maybe a bomb?"

"My blasted son-Zeus-would knock it out of the sky." Kronos dismissed the idea. "We need something on the inside. Something they won't see coming."

"Well, that sounds like something you and other diabolical minds should figure out. I'm out." I pivoted in the opposite directions, heading to the bar as Kronos called out to me.

"Military strategy meeting in thirty minutes! We need to come up with a strategy to reduce their men as well. An eye for an eye."

Instead of looking back, I simply nodded and continue walking. I took a left turn, entering the empty bar. The only soul in there was the middle age bartender who nodded to me as I walked in.

I dropped myself in the red, leather stool, folding my hands.

"You're underage." He noted, voice emotionless; bland.

"And you're probably in a mid life crisis."

The mortal sighed as if he had a headache. "What will it be?"

The corner of my lips pulled up, now that's what I wanted to hear. "Ketle on the rocks. Make it snappy, I don't have all day."

The man poured ice into a glass, filling it halfway with vodka before setting it down before me.

"You're going to have to pour more if you want me to even consider tipping you."

He filled the glass and began to walk away until I flagged him down again. "Hey, the bottle stays."

I could've sworn a ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he set the bottle before me, retreating to the back of the bar.

I was halfway through my second drink when my peace was rudely interrupted. The sound of heels clicking across the wooden floor deafened my ears and I rolled my eyes, gulping down my drink before pouring another one. I had a feeling I was going to have to drink the entire bottle to get through this conversation.

"Percy, you got back and you didn't come see me?"

"Yep." I answered bluntly, turning around just in time to face the empousa trailing a finger down my shirt.

Ignoring my comment, Kelli came closer and placed her arms around my neck. "I missed you. Did you miss me?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure about that?" She asked, placing a hand on my chest.

I glanced at her hand, picked it up, and let it fall on the bar counter. "Does that answer your question, Kelli?"

The empousa smirked and sat into the stool next mine, placing a hand on my thigh. She sighed several times, trying to get my attention.

She inched her hand up closer and I rolled my eyes.

Undeterred, as always. I don't know if it was the vodka talking but I decided to entertain her. "Ok, I'll play...what self created drama are you whining about now?"

Kelli's eyes lit up and I took a shot, bracing myself. "I could've died today, Percy."

"I wish you had." I snorted, lowering my lashes. I couldn't take her seriously in her singed black dress and disheveled hair. She looked like a hot mess, emphasis on the mess.

"It's not funny." She said, her voice dropping down an octave. Well, damn. She was serious. "Your ex almost killed me."

Immediately, all the humor drained from my face and I turned toward her, raising a brow. "What did you to do her?"

"Nothing! She tried to crush my windpipe." Kelli took her hand off of me to rub her throat, revealing a nasty purple bruise. "She's violent."

"Sweetheart does have that effect on people." The corner of my lips pulled up and I hope she was receiving my ten gifts kindly.

"Well, are you going to do something about her? I need to be avenged."

"You're not serious, are you?" I glanced at the empousa who was glaring at me. Her face had turned beet red and I wondered how much damage Thalia really did do to her. I opened my mouth to throw back a sarcastic insult but thought better. "Look, I sent some mortals after her. They're going to kill themselves in front and that should dampen her moral conscience or whatever you call it. Considered her taken care of."

"That's not good enough." Kelli growled, balling her fists. Her eyes brightened, hungry for vengeance. "I want her to suffer. I want her to feel pain and if you won't do it, I'll do it myself." The empousa swiftly turned around and started walking away, until I shot forward, gripping her wrist and turning her to face me.

I lowered my voice, seeing the gleam in my eyes through the clear reflection of the bottle. "If you even so much as look at her the wrong way, I will tear you apart limb by limb."

"I thought you didn't care about her."

"I don't but if anyone's going to inflict pain on her, it's going to be me."

Kelli seemed to accept that and raised her head, placing her forehead against me. "Can I tell you something?"

"I'd rather you not speak at all. Ever."

Ignoring me, she pressed up against me, bringing her lips dangerously close to mine. Chocolate brown eyes stared daggers at my lips and it didn't take a genius to know what she was thinking of. "It's really hot when you get all rough with me. Does it turn you on?"

"Dear gods, no. I'm so unbelievably turned off right now, it's like a power outage in here." I dropped her hand and glanced at my wristwatch. I was supposed to be in the war room ten minutes ago. No doubt Kronos would chew me out. "Please don't talk me again. Actually, don't even breathe in my direction."

"Okay, I'll see you later, baby." The empousa planted a kiss on my cheek before I could stop her then walked out the door, the sound of her heels fading into the background.

Pulling out a wad of cash, I slapped it on the bar which earned a nod of respect from the bartender. Unfortunately still sober, I took the bottle and practically dragged myself to the war room. The war room was more of a business room, a long wooden table was surrounded by ten black leather seats. Only four were occupied-Kronos at the head, crusty-I mean trusty-Prometheus was at his left. Next to Prometheus was Paean, the former physician of the gods. To Kronos' right was an empty chair, assumingly for me. Next to the empty chair was Hyperion, the titan of light, fire, and power.

The men were in middle of a conversation when my father held up his hand and all murmurs ceased. Gold eyes like my own met my gaze, challenging me. "You're late, Perseus."

"Wanna state anything else, captain obvious?" I scoffed, sauntering over to the empty chair and dropped myself in it. I took a swig of vodka, not backing down from the stares of the commanding titan officers. If I weren't the son of Kronos, they would tear me apart in an instant. They thought it was unfair that while they had to work to get to their esteemed position, I skipped ahead simply because of genetics. They wanted to challenge my position at the right hand of my father. A part of me wanted them to. I craved a challenge and when one of them wanted to tango, I would enjoy beating them to a pulp.

"You're drunk." My father rolled his eyes, swiping the bottle away from me.

"I wish." I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand then looked at the men expectantly. "Well, what are we discussing today, lovely gentlemen?"

"With all due respect, my Lord." Prometheus started and I was tempted to roll my eyes-here we go again. "We're here to discuss matter concerning halfbloods. I'm afraid Perseus is still partial to Camp Half Blood and it isn't wise to have a bias opinion in our decision."

Before my father could even speak, I uncapped riptide and launched it across the room. It buried deep within the wall but inches away from his head. "Tell me something, Prometheus." I lifted my gaze to his, my mouth in a tight line. "Do you know what the chain of command is?"

The titan gulped, glancing sideways at the sword before meeting my gaze. His eyes held control but I could tell a part of him wanted to cower away. "The order in which authority and power in an organization is wielded and delegated from top management to every employee at every level of the organization. Instructions flow downward along the chain of command and accountability flows upward."

I didn't ask for the dictionary definition but whatever floated his cruise ship. "No, it's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in command here!"

"Perseus, enough!" The titan of time barked, his eyes glowing.

I was ready to fight when I felt Riptide return to my pocket but leaned back in my chair. Reminder to check myself. "Next time you won't be so lucky."

"I'd like you try, mutt." Prometheus spat. I gave a low whistle, I'd really gotten under his skin. Good job, Percy.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," Hyperion's gold eyes were smoldering, like he was fire within and in some ways, he was. "We lost twenty percent of our assets in the explosion. The 7% mortals we can easily replace but 13% were powerful monsters that we needed for the war. Who knows how long it will take them to reform?"

The man had a point-the more powerful a monster was, the more time it took for them to regenerate.

My father cleared his throat, running a frustrated hand through his perfectly groomed hair. The more I was around him, the more I started to wonder about the body he hosted. Luke had it coming in more ways than one but up until this point, I'd never seen him peek through unless Kronos wanted him to. I wondered if he saw what Kronos saw. I wondered if he had any thoughts, if he could communicate with the titan. I wondered if he was anything more than just a body.

I wondered how long it would be until I would become a mindless body.

As if an anchor were pulling me back down to reality, I focused on the remainder of the titan's words.

"While we may have Typhon on our side, we must reserve him specifically for the gods. Their children can be handled by our monsters. We will need to find some more monsters to replace what we've lost." Kronos' conclusion was valid.

"Sir, I've checked back st Mount Tam and our various forces in New York, we don't even have enough monsters to replace half the ones we lost." Paean informed us. "If we send our army to war in reduced numbers against half bloods who are well trained to kill them, we'd barely stand a fighting chance."

I laughed without humor. "That sounds like a problem. Might want to consider taking out some demigods to even out the playing field."

"And how do you suggest we do that without losing any of our men?" Kronos asked. "Their magical borders is protected from monsters. Our spy won't communicate with us, let alone invite them in. Mortals are too incompetent to get the job done and nonetheless, the demigods would spot them from a mile away."

I thought about it for a while, considering all the options left. From seemingly out of nowhere, I remembered a practically useless fact but it gave me an idea. "Paean," I addressed the physician who faced me. "Tell me about that Formula X that you've been developing."

Prometheus threw up his hands, protesting. "Sir," He looked to my father. "Formula X has nothing to do with this! This boy is completely unprofessional and off task!"

"I'd hold your tongue if you want to keep it." I said in a low voice, itching to unsheath my blade.

Kronos rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Answer the boy's question, Paean."

"Right," The man pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before answering. "Formula X is a serum complete with the world's most contagious diseases. They've been genetically engineered to kill anything-man, monsters, demigods-within hours. We only use it on insurgents though. If you're thinking of injecting it into halfbloods, that'd be hard to do. We certainly have enough to eliminate the entire camp but we'd have to inject them all separately. They'd know something is up."

"And what if you made the serum airborne?" I asked.

Paean's eyes were wide like saucers and he literally began shaking with excitement. Huh, the power of science. "I'd need a host to inject the serum with then it can spread by touch. I can make formula X airbone in ten minutes."

"It's not a bad plan," Kronos admitted, nodding ever so slightly. "But how will you execute it? I doubt they'll trust you enough to touch you."

"No, not me but perhaps a long lost friend." I smirked and my father did the same, understanding clearing the confusion on his face.

"So this your plan to wipe some of the half bloods?" Hyperion was not impressed. "Once everyone starts dropping like flies, they'll find the anecdote."

"I'm sure they will but I can definitely take out 20% of them with Formula X." Paean's voice was confident as he turned to my father. "Sir, as long as I get that host, I can guarantee a 100% success rate with at least 20% of the camp's population obliterated. Just say the word."

As Kronos was considering this, the titan of premonition scoffed. "I can't believe we're going to infect them with a virus."

"No," Kronos' voice was steady, unwavering. He had made his decision. He looked at me, amber eyes to match my own.

"We're going to give them a peace offering." We said simultaneously.

Prometheus and Hyperion seemed wary but nodded. "As you wish, my Lord."

"Paean, have the formula airborne in ten minutes. We'll need one vial of the antidote." Kronos commanded and I tilted my head, confused. That was not part of the plan.

"That is certainly within my abilities, my Lord but may I ask why we'll need an antidote?"

"Because Perseus will be accompanying the peace offering and we can't have him getting sick now can we?"

"He will?" I echoed. Was there another Percy wandering around somewhere on the ship?

"You will." My father confirmed, giving me a sideways glance. I sighed, that was his way of saying he wasn't going to tell me why and that I shouldn't even question him.

"That is all, meeting adjourned. You are all dismissed." Kronos voice rang with finality and the titans left, leaving just Kronos and me alone.

"Get Katie to Paean and go to camp." Kronos commanded. "Make sure the spawn of Zeus doesn't get infected. Distract her. Be back by sundown."

"Yes, sir." I grumbled, exiting the room. Careful to not step into any potholes caused by the explosion, I made my way to the prisoners ward that was located on the second floor, tucked away in the further right corner. We kept all of prisoners of war there, including Katie Gardener. The daughter of Demeter was unconscious on the field during the battle of the Labyrinth and a monster brought her in. She, like several other of our demigods, was brainwashed. She had been compelled to fight Thalia during her time here and now she was going to help me take out some demigods.

I walked into the room with eight cells in it, only two were occupied. A guy with a mohawk slouched in the corner of his cell, his eyes glassy as he watched me pass his and bend down to the cell adjacent to his. Stringy brown hair the color of the earth and green eyes like a freshly cut grass stared into mine. Unlike the others, Katie eyes didn't glaze over completely unless she was commanded to do something. I think she knew what was going on but barely spoke.

"Hey, Katie." I waved to her and she came forward, clutching the bars of the cell.

"Hi, Percy."

From my angle, the bars seemed to divide her face into sections and she showed no emotion, only recognition. "I'm going to need to you come with me. We're going to take a break from this dump."

The girl nodded and backed up, waiting for me to open the door. I placed my hand over the lock and muttered the word open in Greek. The lock glowed for a moment and when I heard the clicking sound, I opened it. The girl was fragile and weak but she stood up without any help. Her bottle green eyes showed more emotion than her face-like she had heard too much, seen too much.

As I slipped an arm around her waist and guided her to the medical wing of the ship, I almost felt bad for her. The look on her face typically came after war. But the funny thing is that the war hadn't even begun yet.

We walked in silence to the medical wing, passing mortals and monsters who limped out of the wing with injuries most likely from the blast. They glared at me like I had done this to them but when they met my cold, amber eyes they cowered away, picking up their pace. Yep, there were some perks to being intimidating as hell. Passing a window, I found Paean in an empty room, staring at two differently colored vials in his hands. He motioned for me to come in and I did so, Katie detaching herself from me. Paean snapped his fingers and a chair appeared in the right corner of the room. I guided Katie to the chair and while she sat, waiting for instructions, I spoke with Paean.

The doctor handed me the vials, clearing his throat. "The red one is formula X, give that to Katie. The blue is the antidote, take that and you'll be fine even if she coughs or touches you. Just make sure not to transfer the antidote to anyone else, it's also airborne."

"No touching or coughing, got it. Anything else I need to know?" I placed the vials in my pocket, making sure I remembered which one was which.

Paean shook his head. "No, everything should go as expected. There's a herb-bay laurel leaves-that are the main ingredient in the antitode. They grow by the strawberry fields in Camp, they have access to the cure and they will figure it out. Your job, however, is to-"

"Delay that access as long as possible. Got it." I turned to leave then pivoted around, an idea springing into my mind. "Say, what was that thing you were saying about Thalia's blood the other day? I think you said you needed it to break the fates' bond cast between us."

"Right, I'm gathering all the necessary materials required to break the bond but I need more blood from her. I wasn't able to get enough while she was here." Paean sighed. "I guess I'll have to work with what I've got. There's no way we'd get her blood willingly."

I pursed my lips, thinking of a solution. "I can get you her blood in exchange for a small favor-I have a question."

Paean's eyes widened and he greedily nodded his head. "Anything, as long as I can answer it, I will."

"When Kronos inhibits a host, is the host sentient? Or is the body just that, a body?"

Paean scratched his non-existent head, taking a moment to think before answering. "No, the host is able to use all five senses. He can hear, smell, and all that but because the titan Lord is such a powerful parasite, he can easily water down those sense. It'd be difficult for the host to fight Kronos but it's definitely possible."

"Thanks for the info. I'll get you Thalia's blood." I promised then nodded to Katie who followed me out of the room. We exited the partially destroyed ship and reached the docks. We walked aways to the parking lot and once in my car, I handed her the red vial and commanded her to drink it. After she did so, I downed the blue viall and we were on our way to camp half blood. Halfway there she began coughing and that's when I knew it had kicked in. I slammed on the gas trying to get her there before she died.

The drive there was completely silent which gave me time to reflect. I hadn't been back at Camp since the battle and no doubt the campers saw me as the enemy. Annabeth was probably there if not, she had gone off with the hunt. I assumed Nico, Tyson, and Grover were long gone by now, preparing for the war. Chiron would be there with his judgy little eyes. He'd probably try to convert me over to their side but he was going to have a hard time with that. Then there was Thalia.

"Thalia, Thalia, Thalia." I murmured while at a red light.

The last time I'd seen her, she was screaming. Screaming for me to come with her and I'd be lying if I said that didn't unravel me, even now. Surely she had received my ten mortals by now because it'd been about three hours since I had sent them. I wondered what she thought of me-was she planning to put me on the blasted path of redemption or had she given up on me by now? I hoped the former, not because I wanted to be saved, but because I wanted her to die knowing that her last acts in the world consisted of her trying to save a man that couldn't be saved.

I didn't want to be saved. I was fully aware that what I've done isn't right-killing Sally and Paul, raising Typhon, siding with the titans-but I just didn't give a damn. It felt unbelievably liberating to give into my titan side, to not be bound by the expectations of others to do good. I was tired of the fighting the world then turning around to fight myself-to fight my nature that I couldn't change no matter how hard I tried.

So I wasn't going to fight myself anymore but I was going to fight anyone who tried to turn me back. I wasn't going back to being a weak pawn for the gods. Never. Not for anyone, not even Thalia, never. I was going to do what I wanted, when I wanted.

I parked not too far from the beach and killed the engine. "Alright, Kat. We're here."

"Hmm?" Katie murmured, waking up. "Percy?"

"I'm here," I told the girl, getting up and sauntering over to the passenger side. I carried her in my arms bridal style, crossing the beach, and going up the hill. At the top of the hill were two campers on watch, staring at me with wide eyes. I didn't know any of them but they sure knew me.

The two boys with mousy brown hair stared at me, shaking. "Y-you're Percy Jackson."

"No shit." I smirked but it fell when one of the boys reached for the conch to alert the camp. "And if you know who I am, you know what I can do. I think you know better than to blow that conch."

The boy lowered the conch and let Katie and I through. We passed through the magical border just fine. Campers strolled around like it was just an ordinary day but there seemed to be a lot of commotion around the big house. In fact, there was a rather large crowd surrounding the big house. Since no one else had recognized me, I pushed through the crowd, trying to see what all the hub bub was about.

"What's going on there?" I asked a random camper.

"Thalia's reading the Great Prophecy." She said offhandedly, straining her neck to see through the window. "Senior counselors meeting only. I'd kill to be in there."

"Be careful what you wish for." I murmured, adjusting Katie who groaned. Good, she was still alive. She coughed a few times which caught the attention of the campers. They glanced at me, including the girl I had just talked to. It was deadly silent.

"What?" I chuckled. "You've never seen a sick girl before?" Laughing, I walked forward and the campers parted like I was the one with the virus.

"Haven't your parents taught not to stare? It's considered rude." I commented, eyeing a group of Hermes kids staring wide-eyed at me. "Then again, I grew up without a parent."

When I received no response, I shrugged. "But it's okay. You wanna know why?" I bent down, directing my attention to a little girl who was clutched her sibling's leg. They both looked like Beckendorf, must be daughters of Hephaestus.

"No." The little girl said, shaking like leaf.

I decided to tell her anyway. "It's okay because I killed her. Boop." I tapped her nose on that last word before getting up, placing Katie on her feet. She swayed slightly but she'd be fine. The crowd I'd just gone through was rather large, they'd all be infected by now.

I set a hand on the door handle, looking back at the shell shocked crowd. "I can't wait to kill every last one of you."

Immediately, the campers scattered, probably running for safety. There was no sense in attacking me, they knew I was linked to Thalia. But still, if they cowered after seeing me, they couldn't take on an army of monsters. I chuckled underneath my breath, this war was going to be _too_ easy.

Before opening the door, I heard _her_ voice.

"...His choice to make, whether to save Olympus or raze. No matter the decision made, his choice will result in the end of his days."

I gulped and Katie looked at me as if to say I was screwed.

"Well, I'd hate to be that guy." I laughed nervously. The prophecy predicted my death. Great. But it was slightly comforting to know that whether I sided with the Olympians or the titans, I would still perish. Burying those ominous lines in the back of my mind, I threw open the door, putting on a mask of pure confidence.

My eyes locked with electric blue ones. Thalia. She had tears in her eyes and her lips were quivering but that expression was fleeting. Her mouth settled into a tight line and she scowled at me. "Percy." She breathed.

"Hello, Sweetheart." I smirked, stepping over the threshold like it was any ordinary afternoon. "Did you miss me?"

* * *

 **Thalia**

 **"Holy crap on a cracker,"** I said, groaning. "Chiron's not serious is he?"

"Afraid so." Annabeth grimaced, straightening her silver parka. Today was her last day at camp before she went off with the Hunt. I tried not to think about it too much but deep down, I didn't want her to leave. I didn't want to lose someone else. "I know you've had a long day already but-"

"Don't finish that sentence," I warned her, getting off of my bed. I briefly checked the mirror, trying to compose myself. I'd gotten a haircut recently so my hair was to supposed to fall into a long bob like Jennifer Aniston but right now I looked like the girl off of the rings. Today, I sported all black, a sign of mourning. "Do you know what it's like to tell ten families that their son, father, daughter, mother, cousin, or spouse is dead? Do you know how horrible I felt when I manipulated the mist to make it seem like it was an accident? That the ten mortals' death had nothing in common, that they all just happened to drown in Montauk on the same day. I mean, one of the mortals worked for comcast and even he didn't deserve such a cruel death. The look on their faces..." I shuddered, desperately trying to get the cries of the families out of my head.

My fingers held the seashell on my camp necklace and I shook my head. "No. I just got back ten minutes ago. We literally just burned Beckendorf's shroud this morning-Silena tried to jump in the pyre with it. Had Clarisse not stopped her..." I trailed off, trying to remember how to breathe. Everything was crashing down like waves and I wasn't sure how long I could keep afloat. "Tell Chiron I can't read the Great Prophecy. Not today."

"If you don't then more people will die. If we can decipher the prophecy, we might be able to stop a catastrophe. Please, Thalia. You have to." Annabeth urged.

"Not today." I said meaningfully. "The prophecy has been waiting for years now, it can wait another day."

"If not for the innocent people that will die-have already died-for this war. Then for him." She pointed to the seashell I had wrapped my fingers around. "Maybe the key to saving him is in there."

"But it probably predicts his death." I maintained then sighed. "You drive a hard bargain, Nerd. I'll do it."

Annabeth gave me a small smile, then opened my cabin door. "After you."

I walked out into the bright light, enjoying the sun's warm waves. It was soothing and I needed that more than ever. Annabeth and I walked to the big house in silence. I braced myself for what I was about to read and passed the threshold. All the senior counselors were there-Clarisse sat with Silena, a comforting arm around her. Michael Yew who represented the Apollo cabin was talking to the Stolls. Jake Mason had replaced Beckendorf as head counselor and my heart almost burst seeing him there.

"Thalia," Chiron trotted over to Annabeth and me, a small scroll in his hand. He handed it to me and although my hands were shaky, I managed not to drop it. "Whenever you're ready."

I'm not ready and I don't think I'll ever be ready. I wanted him to tell him that but nodded instead, not meeting his eyes. Annabeth squeezed my shoulder briefly before taking a seat. Chiron said nothing, taking a seat by the ping pong table. Everyone was silent as I shakily walked to the front of the room. The multiple pairs of eyes combined with the bright lights made feel like I was melting. What didn't help the situation was the fact that I could see a few campers peering out the window from outside the big house. No doubt there would be a crowd of them outside in a few minutes. Maybe there was a sign that said "hey, come watch Thalia read her sort of ex-boyfriend's death and the end of the world prophecy."

Turning my attention back to the counselors, I shakily unraveled the parchment paper. My heart was beating at a hundred miles per hour and I began to feel light headed.

Let's get this over with.

"A half blood of the eldest gods, shall reach eighteen against all odds." So far I had managed to keep my voice relatively steady. I took a deep breath and kept going. "The scorned lover's futile attempts will...will..." I trailed off, gasping. I hoped to the gods that my dyslexia had read that wrong.

"Go on." Annabeth encouraged, her eyes a soft heather gray. "You can do it."

I bit my lip and blurted out the end of the sentence. "The scorned lover's futile attempts will result in a blade to her chest."

Immediately, my audience gasped and most of them were pale. I started to feel lightheaded and no doubt, I probably looked worse than them. Rushing my next words, I finished the rest of the prophecy. "His choice to make, whether to save Olympus or raze. No matter the decision made, the choice will result in the end of his days."

My stomach dropped and I stood there, shaking, just trying not to cry. No one said anything. Shock registered on their faces but that was it. I was going to get stabbed and Percy was going to die. It didn't matter whose side he was on, it was always going to end this way. The fates were so cruel.

I thought about sitting down when I heard the noise outside quiet down. Huh. I figured they must've gone back to their cabins since the show was over. I heard this rattling sound by the door and I stared at it, wondering who was coming in. All the senior counselors were here and no one else was invited to the meeting.

What happened next made my blood run cold.

The son of Kronos swung open the door, a smile plastered onto his face. I briefly noticed Katie Gardner behind him but my eyes locked with his.

"Percy." I breathed, dread filling me. It'd been so long since I'd last seen him...

"Hello, Sweetheart." He stepped forward and suddenly the room seemed too small, like he didn't fit in here. "Did you miss me?" He asked, a hint of a devilish grin in his eyes.

"No." I replied, blocking my true feelings from creeping up my throat and satisfying his cruel curiosity.

"Ouch, you wound me." He chuckled, taking another step forward. Another step towards me.

"Percy, whatever you've come here to do-"Chiron started calmly, rising but the raven haired boy held his hand, stopping him.

"I've come bearing gifts. Consider Katie here a peace offering." Percy gestured to the girl who came forward, coughing like she was dying. What did they do to her?

"Katie." Michael Yew and Stolls caught her and took her away from Percy, keeping her safe.

I rose a brow, skeptical. "Peace offering? For what?"

'"Consider it a 'I forgive you' You know for blowing the Princess Andromeda and trying to kill me."

"I wasn't trying to kill you." I told him. "Besides, I don't think you want forgiveness. You sent ten mortals to kill themselves in front of me."

"You're still on that?" He scoffed, tsking. "We had a spat, I'm over it. Stop dwelling on the past."

"That happened this morning." I countered. "Not even six hours ago."

"Exactly. It's almost noon now. You should've gotten over it by now." The amber eyed boy yawned as if he were bored. "Anyway, you and I need to have a chat. In private."

"I'm not leaving her alone with you." Annabeth stood up, maneuvering herself so that she stood between Percy and me. "You don't get to talk to her. Not after all you've done."

Everyone in the room was at a standstill; it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one knew what to do and Percy's unpredictable nature made the situation all the more dire. My breath seemed to stall in my chest and I looked in his eyes for any sign that somewhere deep within, he didn't mean to do any of this. That he was being forced to do this. Nothing in his expression told me anything. He looked the same, a hint of madness in his eyes as if torturing me was his idea of a fun past time. But other than that, he looked the same as ever except this time, his priorities had shifted.

"Annabeth, as annoying as ever. Not gonna lie, I was so relieved to hear you had joined the girls scouts. Couldn't wait until you left." The son of Kronos reached in his backpocket and nearly everyone lunged forward.

Before I knew it, I had activated my spear, took a few steps forward, and aimed it at his chest. "Drop your weapon."

Percy lifted his lashes to reveal a brilliant gold; he seemed amused. He held his hand up, revealing a stick of foil wrapping between his index and middle finger.

Gum. He was reaching for gum.

"This is such a powerful weapon, I totally understand your fear. The power to destroy bad breath is something to fear." He smirked, unwrapping the gum and popping it in his mouth. He threw the wrapper behind him and his eyes fell on the blade resting at his chest.

"Do it." He whispered quietly, all the mirth drained from his face.

"W-what?"

"Do it. It's what we've both been waiting for, isn't it?" He held my gaze as if he could see my soul. And I could see his-dark, empty. Cold. "So go on. Do it. I dare you."

"You're sick, Percy." I spat at him, lowering my spear and transforming it back into a mace canister. "I'm not going to kill you."

"Why not?" He countered, catching me off guard by the sudden animation in his voice. I felt like I was talking to the Joker sans the clown makeup. He was reckless, a ticking time bomb and if I didn't defuse the situation, he'd only do more damage. "Because you would die also or because you still care about me?"

I looked away for a moment, composing myself. "Both."

"You're going to regret that." He stated nonchalantly. "You and me. Outside. Come alone or I'll kill everyone here."

He pivoted around and went out the door, waiting on the porch. I looked to Chiron for an okay and he nodded; I could go forward. I started forward but Annabeth called out to me.

"Thalia, don't. It's too risky." The blonde advised.

"I have to. He'll kill everyone here if I don't." I told her. "Put your cap on and follow us from a distance. It'll be okay, I can handle him."

"Tik Tok, Sweetheart." Percy glanced over his shoulder at me. "I can line up more mortals to die if you don't pick up the pace."

I took a deep breath and a moment of understanding passed between the daughter of Athena and me. "Yell if you need me." She put the cap, vanishing.

I left the big house and had to catch up to Percy who was walking away. Campers stared at us as we walked past and I gave them a look that said everything was fine. But when I looked at Percy, I wasn't so sure of that.

We were entering the forest when Percy stopped abruptly. I hit the brakes as well, looking at him expectedly.

His jaw worked, his eyes a dull gold. He was angry. "Tell Annabeth to stop following us. Now."

Shocked, I turned around and shook my head. The girl reappeared and seemed like she wanted to start forward, but I held up my hand. Reluctantly, Annabeth backed away and turned back around.

"Don't ever do that again." Percy's was a low, dangerous whisper.

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded and we picked up the pace again in silence. We walked aways until we stopped at the lake. It was pristine, calm; something I wish I was right now. I tried not to get too choked up that he brought me here out of all places. This was Percy's favorite place at camp. He took me swimming here almost two years ago now. I hated him back then but that was one of the first time I saw the side of him that I came to fall in love with. He'd taken me here for prom as well, the night before everything went to shit in a handbasket because of the Labyrinth.

My heart ached for those moments, for better times with the boy I loved more than anything in this world. But things were different now and I was slowly starting to accept that.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him, hoping my voice wasn't as hoarse as I thought it was.

"Because I can." He answered simply, turning around to face me. "You did quite a number on the Andromeda, Thalia."

"Good." I commented. "I'm sure you were devastated by the destruction." I laughed without humor, kicking a small pebble into the lake. It did that rippling effect before sinking to the bottom of the body of water.

"Very." He shot back sarcastically. His intense gaze unnerved me, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"I bet Kelli was there to comfort you." I scowled, regretting the words as soon as they came out. I didn't care who or rather, what Percy did.

"Ah, yes." His smile was blinding, eyes smoldering. "She told me you two had a run in. She's lovely, isn't she?"

I scoffed, turning to face him. "Look, Percy, I don't care who you screw but I didn't think you had such low standards."

"You're joking right?" He was amused. I was not. When he saw the look on my face, he nodded with understanding. "You're not. Whatever Kelli told you, it wasn't true. It's not like that. I've never given that girl the time of day. Ask the readers if you don't believe me. Trust me."

"Hard to trust you when you kill without remorse." I shot back. I wasn't going to deny the fact that relief slipped through me when he told me he wasn't with Kelli. Now was not to discuss our relationship, though. I had to get more information out of him.

"Look, judge me if you want. I don't care. Your opinion of me doesn't matter anymore."

"How can you say that?" I threw my arms up, frustrated. "I'm one of the few people left who still defend you even after all you've done. Percy, I'm trying to save you."

"I don't want to be saved!" He yelled and I flinched at his harsh tone. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I heard the prophecy, Thalia. You're trying to save a dead man."

I gasped and bit my bottom lip. "You know better than anyone else that prophecies aren't straightforward."

"I think this one was." He said quietly.

"Hey, look at me." I said, taking a risk by grabbing a fistful of his shirt. The soft, cotton material combined with his musky scent reminded me of what it felt like to be in his arms. "You're not going to die on me. Not after all we've been through."

* * *

 **Percy**

 **Seeing Thalia's intense gaze felt like being punched in the gut. Repeatedly.**

Up until this point, I had been able to resist her pull. I don't think she realized she did it but I always felt compelled to be near her. She pushed me to be the person she knew I could be and I never wanted to disappoint her. But here she was again, pulling me back in when I had made it more than clear that I didn't need saving.

She grabbed my shirt and I was immediately was reminded of when I had to stay behind at Mount Tam. It felt like I was being stabbed when I pried her fingers away from me and watched the van drive away, her screams shattering me.

"You're not going to die on me. Not after all we've been through." Her blue eyes seemed clouded over, like a storm was brewing inside of her. The air was charged with electricity causing my arm hair to stand up. A rosy flush tinted her normally pale complexion and I desperately wanted to look away. She was encaptivating. Her being this close after so long was the sweetest kind of torture. Each breath she took, I felt in every part of my body, in some areas more than others. Really inappropriate, but she always had a powerful hold over me. Common sense jumped out the window. So I searched for a distraction, anything to get her out of my head but I was in too deep, I let myself get reacquainted with the angles of her face, the graceful column of her neck, and the slope of her shoulders.

Several moments passed before I spoke. I said the first thing-that wasn't about Thalia-on my mind. "Do you remember the story about the fall of Troy?"

That pretty color edged into her cheeks again, so not helping the situation. She flexed her fingers against my shirt, sending my senses flaring. "Yes."

In attempt to keep myself level headed, I told her the story anyway. "Paris, the prince of Troy, wanted Helen, arguably the most beautiful woman back then. But there was a problem-she was promised to Menelaus, a Greek from Sparta. Paris was visiting Sparta for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the ceremony being organised by Zeus. However, Eris, the goddess of discord was not invited, angering her. So she dropped a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides on which the words "To the fairest" were engraved. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite claimed to be the fairest of all, and demanded the apple. Zeus, trying to calm them, asked Paris to make a judgment. The goddesses offered the young prince various gifts, and Paris eventually chose Aphrodite, who had told him she would give him the most beautiful woman in the world. Hence, Helen was abducted by Paris and brought to Troy. When Menelaus realised what had happened, he went after Paris, determined to bring his wife back. That is how the Trojan War started."

"You brought me out here to give me a history lesson." Her voice was hoarse as if she was straining to understand the point of my story.

She wasn't getting it. I was trying to warn her about formula X. While I distracted her, Katie had probably spread it to everyone within a one mile radius. I wasn't supposed to warn her but I felt compelled to. I couldn't help it and I hated myself for giving in to her. So she needed more prompting, more obvious clues. "Who won the war?"

"The Greeks." Thalia said, her low breath distracting me. Damn her.

"How?" I pressed on, clearing my head.

"They retreated from the city of Troy, like they were surrendering but left a wooden horse outside the city. The horse was disguised as an offering for Poseidon so the Trojans took in their city like a spoil of war." She bit down down on her lower lip, and I fought back a groan. "But it was trap. Dozens of Greek soldiers were hidden in the horse and when the opened it, they came pouring out and took over the city. That's how Troy fell."

"So now you understand?" I asked, hoping she got the hint.

"Understand what?" She burrowed closer, tucking her fingers against the collar of my shirt.

I pulled back, her eyes searching mine, and then I reclaimed the distance, and, damn, the kiss was half innocent, half desperate, and wholly perfect. My grip on her back tightened as she tilted her head, and even though the kiss started out as something sweet, I totally took it there. I deepened the kiss, throwing every fear into it, every minute that had passed that we'd been separated, and everything I felt for her. I wasn't sure how much of the antidote was left in me but I knew it was enough to protect her from the virus. Her breathy moan shook me, and when she wiggled it nearly undid me.

"No. D-don't do that." She whispered around my mouth, resting her forehead against mine. Her eyes were closed and I wanted-no, needed-to know what she was thinking.

"You kissed me back." I said after dragging in a breath.

"I know, Percy. I was there." She stepped back and I immediately missed the warmth of her skin. "That was a mistake and it's not going to happen again. Are we clear?"

I plastered on a grin, burying my true emotions. It was easier that way. "Crystal."

"So what happens between now and December?"

I shrugged, stepping forward. I got all in her personal space, my fingers trailing her neck.

"Percy." She warned me before her voice was strained. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. Now that I thought of it, I wasn't sure why I had to leave her behind to join Kronos. That wasn't part of the deal-I was just supposed to pledge my allegiance to Kronos and be his host when the time came. Until then...

"Come back to the Andromeda with me. Join the titans and we can be together." I offered, the words pouring out before I could stop them. My fingers closed around the blue seashell I'd given her. "Please."

The daughter of Zeus did something I didn't expect.

She laughed. She pulled away, doubling over, laughing like I'd said something funny.

"Right." I said underneath my breath, looking up at the sky. The sun would set soon and I'd have to get back to the ship sooner or later. When I looked back at her, Thalia was wiping a tear out of her eye, her laughter subsiding.

"You're really insane. I'd never join Kronos and if you really knew me, you wouldn't have asked that."

"Well, the offer's on the table." I shielded my lashes, looking at the lake. "If you ever want to take it up, you know where to find me."

"I wouldn't hold your breath." She retorted before walking away, toward camp.

I caught up to her and we walked back to camp, greeted by chaos. As we reached the cabins, demigods began dropping like flies. I gave a low whistle, formula X sure was effective.

"What did you do?" Thalia voice cracked as she bent down to inspect some demigod who was convulsing like crazy. "I'm going to get you help, okay?" She told him and ran to the infirmary. I followed her, avoiding the demigods passing out in our midst.

Dozens of dead demigods lay in the infirmary, the medics not looking too hot themselves. Annabeth and Malcolm approached us, leaning on each other for support. Annabeth had beads of sweat running down her forehead and I was surprised she was still alive.

"Katie...she spread some virus to us. He's trying...to kill us." And with that, Annabeth passed out. Malcolm bent down to help her and that's when Thalia turned around to face me, her stormy eyes furious.

I grinned, shrugging. "Must be the weather. Allergies maybe."

Thalia looked like she wanted to clock me but then a look of understanding crossed her face. "Trojan horse." She whispered. "Katie's the Trojan horse. You're avenging those killed on the Andromeda."

I gave her a round of applause. "Wow, you're a quick one."

"Why? Why are you doing this to us?" Her voice broke and I had to harden my heart to reply.

I brought my lips close to her ears, resting a hand on her waist. "I bet you wish I had been on that ship this morning. Just because I can't kill you, doesn't mean I can't torture you. When I told you game on, I meant it-I will strip away all that you know, all that you love. Until you have no shelter but me."

Thalia's voice shook, I could hear heartbeat picking up. "Then you'll kill me, right?"

"And let you find peace? No, that's when I'll let you live and that, _that_ will destroy you." I kissed her cheek before backing away, leaving the distraught girl and the infected camp behind me.

"An eye for an eye." I whispered, echoing my father's words.

* * *

 **A/N-I'm sorry for shitty prophecy, I have no rhyming skills. Literally I didn't update last week because I was coming up with that prophecy and rewrote it like ten times then before I knew it, sunday had passed. So I tacked on some more words to this chapter to make up for last week. My goal this month is to update every week, I'll try my best! Thanks for reading, I'll see you guys next Sunday!**


	4. Trojan Horse

**A/N- Quick filler chapter for you guys. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Thalia**

 **Percy had really screwed us over in every sense of the word.** As I watched him walk away, hands in his pocket as if he were taking a stroll down the beach, my eyes burned. He killed ten innocent mortals and dozens of campers. I didn't know how to even begin to forgive him for that.

"Thalia, help." Will Solace's coughs caught my attention and I immediately turned around to face him.

"Oh gods, Annabeth." I gasped, helping Will carry her over to an empty cot.

"Get...Katie. She has to know...what," Annabeth fought her way back to consciousness, her face pale but eyes still bright. "She'll know what this is."

Will's breathing was labored but he nodded. "We'll get all the containment in here-create a quarantine. This virus is definitely airborne." The son of Apollo nodded at me. "You should go before you get infected."

"No, I'll find Katie. I'm not letting anyone else die." I squeezed Annabeth's hand before leaving. Will followed at my heels and began streamlining the infected campers into the infirmary. I weaved through the crowd, trying to find Katie.

"Katie!" I called, stopping a few girls that had her similar hair color but they weren't her. "Katie! Kat-"

"She's over here!" A male voice called out to me-I briefly recognized it as one of the Stoll brothers. I followed his voice and was led to the porch of the Big house where the Stolls held a dying Katie and Chiron was with them, holding her hand.

"Percy's doing?" Chiron asked, his voice hoarse. I wasn't sure if he had been infected-maybe since he was immortal, he was immune.

I nodded, tearing my eyes away from my mentor's face. I couldn't imagine what this must look like to him. The kids he practically raised, trained to fight off unbelievable monsters twice their size, were being taken out by a mere cough. If Katie didn't know anything, we were monumentally screwed.

"Katie, can you hear me?" I asked her.

Her eyes were cloudy but she managed to nod. "Yes."

"Whatever you have, the other campers got it. They're dying. Do you know what this virus is?"

With help, the girl stood up, clearing her throat. "It was created by Paean, the former physician to the gods."

I nodded, motioning for her to go on. I had met the man on Mount Tam, he'd ran several tests on me and healed me after I'd been forced to fight demigods, Katie being one of them.

"I overheard him and Percy talking about it-Formula X. It's airborne, kills within twenty fours. Apparently, it's composed of the world's most dangerous plagues so you'd have to find the antidote to all of those plagues I'm assuming."

"We don't have time to do that. Katie, think, my dear." Chiron implored the girl. "The titans must have the antidote, maybe we can get on the Andromeda and find it."

"Maybe." Katie had a brief coughing fit before she was able to speak again. "I saw...Percy taking the antidote. I'm sure there's more on the ship. But...why aren't you getting sick, Thalia?"

I blinked as my audience of four looked up at me unexpectedly. "I-I don't know. I didn't take an antidote as far as I know."

"I'm immortal which explains why I'm not ill." Chiron stood up, a puzzled look on his face. "But you, however, are not."

Before I could even form an answer, Annabeth and Will ran up to us. The son of Apollo was still weak, straining to catch his breath. Annabeth, on the hand, seemed perfectly fine. Her forehead was no longer clammy, a healthy glow restored to her youthful face. What the hell?

"It's you, Thalia." She told me. "You're the antidote."

* * *

"Tell me again how this is possible." I whispered to Annabeth while I held a daughter of Aphrodite in my arms. Behind her were a line of campers, swaying from weakness but there was hope in their eyes-like I had the power to save them.

And this time I could but we were running out of time.

"You said Percy kissed you, right?" The blonde said, looking up from her laptop. She was looking for a faster way to speed the cure other than me just touching people.

As horrible as Percy was, I wasn't going to deny that I felt something when we kissed. A spark, that same passion that I had for him flared in me, melting away the events of these past months without him. "Right and?"

"Katie said he had taken the antidote and it was airborne as well. So he kissed you, transferring the antidote to you. You touched me when you helped put me on the cot and now I'm fine. Now all you've just got to do is..." She glanced at the line of demigods. "touch about fifty more demigods."

The girl I held took a deep breath and nodded to me. "Thank you."

"No problem." I told her, ushering her towards Will who escorted her outside. "Next." I grasped the hand of son of Hermes, giving him a small smile. He looked no older than twelve, same age I was when I found out that I was a demigod.

"So why can't you touch people and they're healed too? Because for every demigod I heal, two more die. It's not fast enough." I shook my head, looking to the next person in line. "Double team it." I extend my other hand and they grasped it without hesitation.

"Doesn't work like that. You must've gotten the bulk of the antidote since you got it from Percy, the source. I've already tried to pass it on, doesn't work. If Percy were here, it definetly go faster but..."

"That's not an option." I finished.

"Right." Annabeth shut her laptop, sighing. "But keep doing what you're doing. It's making a difference." Ironically, just after she said that two more demigods passed out.

Frustrated, I tried focusing on the kids who held my hand, hoping that some cosmic energy would accelerate the process. It didn't but in a few minutes, they were moved out of quarantine and outside. Four more campers latched onto me and the process was even longer, taking almost ten minutes this time. Demigods were dropping like flies and there was nothing I could about it. So I gritted my teeth and kept going. That's all I could do.

Will jogged up to Annabeth and me, clearing the kids I held to move out of quarantine. "I've got an idea."

"Well, spill it." The daughter of Athena said.

"Thalia, the antidote runs through your blood and next to Percy, your blood is an even better direct source than you just touching people."

"Are you suggesting a blood transfusion?" Annabeth's eyes went wide. "She doesn't have enough blood to support all these people-she'll die."

"Do it." I told him against Annabeth's protest. If I could save them, I was going to do so. "However much blood it takes, do it."

"According to my calculation, we should only need about one litre of blood." Will checked his clipboard, his blonde hair shielding his eyes. "The average adult has around 5 litres of blood. A loss of over 40%-around 2 and a half litres-will lead to death but that's without medical treatment."

"Then let's do it. Two liters, just to be safe." I said.

"Thalia, you don't have to do this." Annabeth reminded me as Will began giving orders to the other medics to bring out the blood transfusion equipment.

"Yes, I do. Besides, even if I get close to dying, Percy will have to fight to live too. Kronos wouldn't let him die-they've got the physician of the gods on their side."

"Still, if it doesn't work-"

"It will. It has to." I whispered. "This is all my fault, Annabeth. If I had just gotten out of Mount Tam by myself, Percy wouldn't have gotten caught trying to rescue me. He would've have done any of this."

Annabeth pursed her lips, looking away. "I hope you're right."

"Me too."

A minute later, I was staring at the infirmary's white ceiling, watching the fan go round and round. I was hooked up to an ivy, a pouch of blood resting on the hanger of the machine. My blood. Connected to that blood pouch was another tube, that tube traveled down over to over thirty demigods, going to their veins. Within five minutes, the bulk of them stood up, healed. One by one, I watched the glow return to their faces and they all got up to leave the quarantine. Will was right-one litre of my blood saved them. Just in case we missed someone or the virus somehow spread again, he took another litre of my blood, placing it on a medical tray beside the door.

"You were awesome today, Thalia." He told me, disconnecting me from the ivy.

"Could've saved more." I lamented, my voice hoarse. It even cracked. My head felt like I had been tossed around a few times but it was worth it. "How...how many campers did we lose?"

"Forty. Twenty percent of the entire camp." Annabeth answered, tears in her eyes. "That's the same amount you and Beckendorf took out on the Andromeda. An eye for an eye."

I drank that information in, trying not to cry. If I started crying now, I didn't think I'd ever stop. How much more of this could I take? The war hadn't even started yet and I felt like I had been gutted out repeatedly. It was only made worse by the fact that Percy had done this all. I knew him like the back of my hand. He had come up with the plan to infect us and only chose to save me because if I died, he died also. Despite all this, something felt off. Something apart from the forty dead demigods we'd lost over the course of a few hours.

There was not right with this picture and I couldn't place my finger on it. This was too...one dimensional. Percy wasn't a one attack and done kind of guy. So he got revenge for those killed in the blast and evened out the playing field. Kronos would certainly approve of that but Percy, he always had an ulterior motive. I was missing something.

Before I could voice my concern to Annabeth and Will, the daughter of Demeter came into the room, peeking her head in. "Is Thalia here?"

Annabeth seemed like she wanted to tell her to come another time but I rested a hand on hers, nodding. "Yeah, come in."

Katie closed the door behind her, looking better than she had when I first saw her. She looked revived and healthy.

"We'll give you some space." Will said, gesturing to Annabeth. The demigods got up and began cleaning up the cots and medical equipment.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, easing herself into the chair that Annabeth had been sitting in previously.

"I've had better days." I admitted. "But I'm okay and so is everyone else, thanks to you."

"Not the forty dead. I lost seven brothers and sisters today, the youngest was only ten." Her voice shook and I reached a hand out to comfort her. She grasped it, running her thumb over my knuckles. "I knew that I had the virus but it made me so weak and delusional, I couldn't even think properly to warn you guys. Percy, he told me not to warn you either and at the time, I was under that spell. I had to do whatever he or anyone else on that godforsaken ship said."

I nodded, sucking in a sharp breath. This wasn't her fault, she was just a pawn, used for destruction. "You're okay now. You're home." Katie's eyes had returned to their normal emerald green but there was a hint of cloudiness in her iris. I thought that was a side effect of the virus but now I remember that it was the same clouded over look she had at Mount Tam. I brushed it off, assuming that it was just leftover residue.

She was herself now, or so I thought.

"I'm sorry for fighting you. I-I had no choice. You have to believe that I never wanted to hurt you."

"I believe you." I squeezed her hand, smiling. "Besides, I don't mind getting a little roughed up anyway. It's part of being a halfblood."

She chuckled, wiping a tear from her cheek. "It's practically in the job description."

"Exactly." I laughed then sighed. "How'd they catch you? The Titans?"

"The battle. I lost my sword while on their side of the field and one of the monsters just grabbed me then took me to the Andromeda. And the rest...the rest you know." Katie took a deep breath, looking around. "I missed this place. I didn't think I'd ever see it again."

A wave a guilt crashed over me as if I had been the one who imprisoned her on the Andromeda. In a way, I was. I didn't even think of saving her or any of the other demigods when I was there. I only thought of myself. Typical Thalia.

I cleared my throat, gaining her attention. "Well, this place missed you. Welcome back, Katie."

Katie smiled, releasing my hand before rising up. "I'll let you get some rest then. Goodnight, Thalia."

"Night, see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Gods, I never thought I'd look forward to eating camp's healthy food again. First stop when I get to the mess hall-I'm hitting up those whole grain waffles."

"I pour a boatload of blueberry syrup to mask the scent of healthy. Ten out of ten would recommend." I advised.

Katie laughed, walking backwards before slightly hitting the medical tray as she did so. "You didn't see that." She chuckled.

"See what?" I played along, snickering. With a smile, the girl made her way out of the door and I lay back down on the cot, closing my eyes. I knew I could make it to my cabin but I was fine here, just taking it slow.

"How are you feeling?" Will asked, concerned.

"Like I've been hit by a semi. Can a girl get some pain meds?"

"Coming right up." Will's laugh was light and airy as he made his way to the medical tray by the door. He picked up a bottle of ibuprofen on the second drawer of the tray before looking at the first level of the tray.

"Will?" I said as the boy stood, frozen. The bottle slipped out of his hands and rolled forward, stopping at the corner of the room. This caught Annabeth's attention who stopped sanitizing up the medical equipment and walked over to him.

"Will, what's wrong?" She asked and the son of Apollo looked at her. I didn't see the look on his face but Annabeth stumbled backwards, shocked. Will bolted out of the infirmary and I immediately sat up, ignoring the dull ringing in my head.

"The blood. It's gone." Annabeth said and my gaze fell on the medical tray. It was empty.

"Katie." We both said at the same time then rushed out of the door. By the time we made it to my tree, Will was there and the three of us watched Katie dart past the beach, carry the crimson filled bag and when I blinked, she was out of sight. There was no point in trying to catch her-she'd be long gone before we even got close.

"I don't understand, they made the virus. They should have the antidote, why do they need your blood?" Will said, exasperated.

I ran two hands through my hair, cursing myself repeatedly. This was it-the second layer of Percy's plan. He found a blind spot-while we were all distracted with the virus, he had commanded Katie to steal my blood, knowing that we'd use it as the cure. It was all an illusion-Katie had been under their spell the entire time, that's why her eyes were still cloudy. It felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath us and that nothing we were doing had fixed anything, it was only damage control.

Letting the tears fall freely now, I slumped against my tree for support. The moonlight seemed to mock me, putting a spotlight on me. "The virus was meant to destroy us but it was also a distraction. While our guard was down, Katie stole my blood. I hope to the gods that I'm not right but I know I am. My blood is the last ingredient..."

"The last ingredient to what?" Annabeth demanded, imploring me to continue.

I squeezed my eyes shut. "The last ingredient needed to sever the bond between Percy and I. The next time we see Percy, he won't be himself. He'll be Kronos."

* * *

 **A/N-So we're inching closer to battle. I think after next chapter, we'll skip to December and shit will really hit the ceiling. Updates are once a week on Sunday and I'll see you guys then!**


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